


Destinies Entwined

by dgc1996



Series: Two of A Kind [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Persona 4, Steven Universe (Cartoon), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Protagonist, Fluff, My First AO3 Post, Mystery, Persona 3 Spoilers, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redemption, Supernatural Elements, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dgc1996/pseuds/dgc1996
Summary: Two years ago two Wild Cards were chosen to prevent The Fall and defeat of the goddess of death Nyx. Although they were successful in doing so it wasn't without sacrifice. Now two new Wild Cards have awakened, and will need to solve the mystery shrouded in fog or their future will be forever lost.
Relationships: Adachi Tohru/Original Character(s), Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Two of A Kind [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078439
Kudos: 6





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by Gunslingers White Rose's Persona 4 fic Dual Destinies. The protagonist will be female. This fic takes place within the JoJo's Bizzare Adventure universe, Stands exist, and Personas are evolved forms of Stands. So they'll be able to use them outside of the TV world, but not right away, that'll be explained later on.
> 
> There will be other references to other series in this as well. This is my second time writing a fanfic. I wrote one years ago, but I didn't think the entire story through. Which is one mistake I don't want to make again. I hope you'll enjoy this fic, and I look forward to sharing this with you and sharing my OC's with you.
> 
> I'm going to be utilizing the main and subsets for the personas of the other party members. That was something I love from Persona Q and of course has to be of the same arcana. Also this fic will take place earlier than when the game actually takes place. Marie won't be in this, I have someone else for that role.
> 
> Ok, now with that out of way let the journey commence .
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was inspired by Gunslingers White Rose's Persona 4 fic Dual Destinies. The protagonist will be female. This fic takes place within the JoJo's Bizzare Adventure universe, Stands exist, and Personas are evolved forms of Stands. So they'll be able to use them outside of the TV world, but not right away, that'll be explained later on.
> 
> There will be other references to other series in this as well. This is my second time writing a fanfic. I wrote one years ago, but I didn't think the entire story through. Which is one mistake I don't want to make again. I hope you'll enjoy this fic, and I look forward to sharing this with you and sharing my OC's with you.
> 
> I'm going to be utilizing the main and subsets for the personas of the other party members. That was something I love from Persona Q and of course has to be of the same arcana. Also this fic will take place earlier than when the game actually takes place. Marie won't be in this, I have someone else for that role.
> 
> Ok, now with that out of way let the journey commence .
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's.

(Insert: Aria of the Soul)

As one journey ends another begins. As we come across a lone limousine traversing along a road covered in dense fog with only the light of the vehicle guiding its way through to its destination. Now if you'd look at it from the outside it wouldn't look like much from its dull silver exterior, but what makes it unique is what's on the inside. The inside was cascaded with a beautiful velvet hue, with a gorgeous piano accompanied by a opera singer. The limo was aligned with two leather sofas, a small table in between them, and a bar. This place was known as The Velvet Room a place where only those chosen by fate may enter. It is also where the residents of this domain reside. A old man with a long nose, who is the caretaker of said domain, and his attendant who was a young woman with silver hair, and dressed in blue. However today they are not along as they are welcomed by two guests, a male and a female. Whose features were hidden from one another by a veil separated between them. These two who would soon be guided by fate.

"Welcome to The Velvet Room. Ah, it seems that we have guests with an intriguing destiny."

As the two guests stirred they awoke to find themselves within the strange room. "Hm, what is this place?" the woman asked, curious of her surroundings. "Where the hell am I?" The man asked, "Did I get drunk? Well wherever I am at least there's booze." The man said as he leaned forward to grab one of the many bottles of alcohol from the bar. "Sir, please refrain from drinking for the time being. Now then, my name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance." Igor said, as he introduced himself to the two guests.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a contract may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you both in the future." Igor said, "Though I must say it has been quite sometime since we've last had guests, and it appears that once again two have been chosen. How intriguing."

"Now then, why don't you two introduce yourselves. Ladies first, of course." Igor said, as he gestured his hand towards the woman. "Yui Narukami." Yui said, as she quietly introduced herself. "Good, and now the Gentleman." Igor said, as he gestured his hand towards the man. The young man was hesitant and felt no desire to answer them, however he didn't really have much of a choice. Plus, this wouldn't be the first time he had a weird ass dream like this. "Tohru Adachi." Adachi said, as he introduced himself. As he was trying to distinguish the features of the mysterious woman behind the veil within this weird ass dream of his. But unfortunately it was to no avail, the only thing he could figure out by the sound of her voice; was that she was likely around Rin's age. Perhaps a few years younger than her.

"Now, let's take a look into your future. Shall we?" Igor said, as he summoned what appeared to be tarot cards before them. "Tell me do you two believe in fortune telling?" Igor asked, "I guess so." Yui replied, unsure how to answer the question. Although she didn't really believe in it herself, but she was one who was open minded to the concept and was interested in it. However, Adachi on the other hand wasn't open to the idea; and was of course skeptical of the whole thing. "No, I don't." Adachi said, as he answered Igor; annoyed at the old man's question. Sure, he knew someone who had an ability to see the future; but fortune telling was whole other story altogether. He knew that fortune telling was a complete and utter sham people used to con those who were stupid enough out of their money.

"Well, regardless." Igor said, as he carried on "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different. Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?" Igor chuckled, taking his hand and flipped over the card with ease. The card showed a tower that was crumbling down. "The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent." After Igor said, taking his hand and went to flip over another card. "The card indicating the future beyond that is." The two leaned in closer, Yui was entranced by this and wondered what would happen next. Adachi on the other hand, was trying to figure out as to what the trick was to what the old man was doing. As he revealed a card with a crescent moon. "The Moon in the upright position represents hesitation and mystery. Very interesting indeed. It seems you two will encounter misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed onto the both of you. In the coming days you will enter a contract of some sort, after which the two of you will return here. The coming year will be a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery is not solved your future may be forever lost." Igor said, as Yui didn't understand as to what he meant by that. Adachi however, was excited as to what the year would bring, and although he thought this was all just a dream he thought back to what Rin told him before he came to this boring town. That although things seemed boring now, things would get interesting soon enough; and her intuition was usually never wrong.

"Our duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen." They had glanced over to the young woman next to Igor. "Ah, yes I have neglected to introduce my assistant. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place like myself." Igor said, as he gestured to his assistant. "My name is Margaret, I am here to accompany the two of you on your journey." Margaret said, as she introduced herself to them. She spoke so elegantly, like someone who has experienced much in her life. "We shall attend to the details at another time. Until then, farewell." Igor said, as he waved his hand.

Although they had many questions for him, it appears that they would have to wait for another time as a wave of drowsiness washed over them. Though they tried to keep their eyes open, they were forced shut as sleep overtook them as their forms started to disappear and depart from The Velvet Room.

12/20/2011

Weather: Partly Cloudy

(Insert: A Corner of Memories)

(Yui's POV)

She awoke on board the train, taking her towards to where she would be spending the next year. Because her parents had to go work overseas, she would be staying with her uncle in Inaba. Although this wasn't the first time that this had occurred, due to her parents being so busy; she would be staying with a relative that she barely knew. It made her a bit nervous as to whether or not they would get along. Though, there was one good thing coming from all this; was that she would be able to see her old friend Corina Kurosawa again. She had met her five years ago, and have been writing back and forth to each other ever since. Even though she was sick and in the hospital at the moment, they still continued to send letters to each other.

She looked at her phone, and saw a message from her uncle saying that he would pick her up from the station around 4pm. She thought back to the strange dream she had earlier, wondering whether or not if that really was a dream and who that other man was. "Tohru Adachi." She thought as she vaguely remembered the man, though wasn't entirely sure if she had just dreamt him up or not.

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes." The conductor announced, she began to gather her things as the train finally arrived at the station.

(Insert; New Days)

She'd gotten off the train, once it had came to a stop. She took a look around, "There's really nothing here." She thought, she heard someone call over to her. "Hey, over here!" She looked over and saw a rugged, tall man in his forties. Wearing a grey dress shirt, black dress pants, a brown blazer and a red tie. "I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'll be the one taking care of you for the next year. Let's see.. I'm your mother's younger brother, and that about sums it up." Dojima said, as he introduced himself to her. "Well, I figured that much." She thought, "Though you look more pretty in person than in your photographs. Welcome to Inaba." Dojima said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Yui Narukami." She said, as she introduced herself to Dojima. "Well it's nice to meet you, to think you've grown so much though. I remember I used to change your diapers." Dojima said, "That's not something that I needed to know." She thought, as she was embarrassed by Dojima saying that. Alongside him was a little girl who looked to be about six years old with pigtails, and wearing a pink jacket and a dark pink skirt. "This is my daughter Nanako, go on and say hi to your cousin." Dojima said, as he gestured to Nanako. " "ello." Nanako shyly said, before she hid behind her dad's leg. "What are being so shy for?" Dojima asked, Nanako smacked the back of her dad's leg. "Ouch! Haha!" He said, Nanako glared at him. "Well, let's get going. My car's right over there." Dojima said, as they started heading towards the car; and started making there way towards the Dojima residence.

Along the way to the Dojima residence Nanako had to go to the bathroom, so they had made a stop at the Moel gas station. As we pulled into the gas station we were greeted by the gas station attendant. She looked to be around her age, perhaps a bit older. Though she was plain looking, she had wavy dark brown hair that went a bit below her shoulders and gray eyes; and wore her regulated uniform and hat. "Hi! Welcome to Moel!" The attendant said, as Dojima and Nanako got out of the car. "Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Dojima asked Nanako. "Uh huh." Nanako assured him, as she was about to head to the bathroom. "It's in the back on the left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." The gas attendant said, "I know, geez." Nanako replied, annoyingly; as she continued making her way to the back. "Are you taking a trip?" The gas attendant asked Dojima, while she had gotten out of the car to stretch her legs. "No, we just got back from picking up my niece from the station. She just moved here from the city." Dojima replied, "Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine." Dojima requested, "Right away sir!" The gas attendant replied, getting straight to work. Dojima pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, "A good enough time as any for a smoke." Dojima said, as he went off.

The gas station attendant had approached her and started talking. "Are you a high school student?" The gas attendent asked, "Yeah, I am. I'm a first year, but will be a second year in April." She replied, "I see. I'm also in high school, I'm a second year at Yasogami High: but will be a third year in April." The gas attendant said, "I'm Yumiko Shirasagi, I help out part time around here, it helps pass the time." Yumiko said, as she introduced herself to het. "Nice to meet you Shirasagi-senpai, I'm Yui Narukami." She said, as she introduced herself to Yumiko. "So does it surprise you that there's not much out here?" Yumiko asked her, "Yeah, it sure is different from the city; though it feels quite nice though. Plus, the air's a lot cleaner here than in the city." She replied, "There's not much to do here, you'll most likely get bored quickly. You'll either be hanging out with your friends, doing clubs, or working a part time job. By the way, we're actually looking for some more part time help at the moment. Why don't you give it some thought?" Yumiko suggested, she stretched her hand out offering a handshake. "I'll think about it." She replied, reaching out her hand and shook Yumiko's hand. However, when she did a strange feeling flowed through her as if a jolt of electricity shot through her. "Oh, I should be getting back to work. It was nice meeting you."

While Yumiko had returned to her work, a wave of nausea hit her and she started to feel sick. She held her head trying to fight through the pain, as Nanako returned from the restroom. "Are you ok? You don't look so good. Did you get carsick?" Nanako asked, concerned for her. "I'll be all right." She replied, reassuringly to Nanako. "OK, if you say so." Nanako said, as Dojima returned from his smoke. "What's wrong? You ok?" Dojima asked, "Yeah, I'm just tired." She replied to Dojima, "That's understandable, it must have been a long trip for you. Why not take a little walk? Get some fresh air, I'll wait here. The shopping district is near the house, so you should get to know where all the stores are. Just let me know when you're ready to go." Dojima suggested, "Yeah, I think I'll do just that." She said, before she headed down the road of the shopping district.

(Insert: Heartbeat, Heartbreak)

As she headed down the road she took in the sights she had passed by on the way. Seeing the many different types of shops that lined the shopping district. There was a bookstore, a metalworks shop, a convenience store, a bar, a tofu shop, a place that sold steak, a diner, a textile shop and a liquor store. There was one store that looked like it was being refurbished, though there were some that looked liked that they had closed down for business. "I wonder what could've happened here?" She thought, as she continued walking throughout the shopping district. She came across an old lady, along the way. "Why, hello there. I don't think I've seen you before." The old woman said, "Yeah, I just moved here today. I'm Yui Narukami it's nice to meet you." She said, as she introduced herself to the old woman. "My, so polite." The old woman said, "Um, do you know as to why some of the shops closed down?" She asked the old woman, "Ah, yes. That would be because of Junes. It opened up shop a couple months ago, since then the shopping district has become a lot less busier than it used to be. It's such a shame, ever since then some of the shops closed down." The old woman explained to her. "I see." She said, before the old woman hobbled off.

"So there's another shopping district around here known as Junes. Now that I think about it. Christmas is coming up, maybe I should get something nice for Dojima and Nanako." She thought, while she continued down the road. She had spotted a young girl with curly light brown hair by the liquor store. She was busy sweeping the snow off the entrance to the shop. She looked a bit older than her. She was wearing a winter school uniform and a long coat to protect her from the cold. "Uh, hello there. You don't look familiar, Did you just move here?" The older girl asked, "Yeah, I just moved here recently from Tokyo." She replied to the older girl, "Oh yeah, a friend of mine just moved here from the city a couple months ago. I'm Saki Konishi, I'm a second year at Yasogami High. But will be a third year starting in April." Saki said, as she introduced herself to her. "Oh, then you would be my senpai then. I'm Yui Narukami, I'm a first year, but will be a second year starting in April. It was nice meeting you Konishi-senpai, I should let you get back to work." She said, as they waved each other goodbye; before Saki went back to sweeping.

Having felt better than she was earlier, she decided to head on back towards the gas station. "Don't want to keep Dojima and Nanako waiting." She thought, she started making her way back. However, she didn't see a patch of ice on the road and had slipped. She was expecting to feel the cold hard ground. Instead, she was held up by a young man who was most likely on his way home from work. "Whoa! Careful there, the ice can get outta hand around here sometimes. You ok?" The man asked, while he steadied her. "Yeah, thanks." She said, thanking the young man. Although, she was grateful for preventing her from falling. She couldn't help but feel as though she heard his voice somewhere before. She wondered if this was the same man she heard in that strange dream she had on her way here to Inaba.

While she observed him, she noticed that he had messy brown hair and grey eyes. He wore a black suit, with a white dress shirt underneath. A navy blue jacket, along with a red scarf and gloves. He was about in his late twenties. "Hey, have we met before?" The man asked, smiling nervously. "Hm, oh no. Its just that you sounded like someone I heard before, that's all. Sorry." Yui said, "Oh, I see ". The man said, "Anyway, I didn't hit you or made you drop anything did I?" She asked, "No worries, both me and my stuff are fine." The young man said, reassuring her. "That's good, I'm glad to hear that" She said, relieved by that. "I'm Yui Narukami, I just moved here. And you are?" She asked, "Tohru Adachi, I'm a detective. I just recently moved here myself about a month ago." Adachi said, as he introduced himself to her. "I see, well I'm glad someone like you is keeping us safe. You look like someone that people can really depend on." She said, as she smiled at Adachi. "Oh, I should be going now. Dojima and Nanako are waiting for me. It was nice meeting you Adachi-san." She said, as she made her way back to the gas station; though not before saying goodbye.

"How are you feeling?" Dojima asked, "I'm feeling better now." She replied to Dojima. "Good. Ready to get back in the car?" Dojima asked, "Yeah, I'm ready." She replied, "All right, let's hit the road then." Dojima said, they'd gotten back in the car. "So did you happen to meet anyone interesting?" Dojima asked, while he continued driving along the street. "Yeah, I did actually. I met a girl who goes to the same school I'll be starting soon by the liquor store. Her name was Saki Konishi." She said, "Oh yeah, Konishi-san and her family owns that liquor store in the Northern Shopping District; their family's owned that place for generations. Hopefully, I won't see you in there, unless you're just speaking to her. Alright?" Dojima asked, "I understand." She said, she smiled at how protective her uncle was being. It was something that she wasn't used to since her parents were mostly busy; even though she knew that they cared and tried to make time for her it still felt nice all the same. Though, she wasn't so sure as how her uncle would react to her meeting a guy older than her. But he was a detective though, so it should be ok.

"I also met this detective as well, he said his name was Tohru Adachi." She said, even though they've actually met before; but she wasn't going to tell him that. She noticed Dojima tense up when she told him the young man's name. "Adachi, yeah that guy's my partner. We're both detectives. He may sometimes act like a rookie, but he's got potential though. But, he's not really the type of person you should be hanging around with. He's a good guy, but a bad influence nonetheless. He can be lazy at times, and a bit of a klutz." Dojima said, she was listening to him; while trying to remember the way from the shopping district to the Dojima residence. Once they finally arrived, she had gotten her things and started to get settled into the place that would be her new home for the next year maybe even longer. She took her shoes off and took a look around before heading upstairs to unpack her things. While Dojima headed back out to go and pick up dinner.

Later that evening, the three of them sat down together to eat the dinner Dojima brought back. "Now then, let's have a toast." Dojima declared, the three of them raised their drinks. "So, as usual your parents are as busy as ever. They're working overseas was it? Dojima asked, "Yeah, Mom had to go work on a case, and Dad's helping the Kirjo group with some new project." She said, "It must've been rough having to move out here to the countryside." Dojima said, "I'm used to it." She said, for she already knew fully well how busy her parents were. It's just something she's always been used to, and because of that; it made it hard to get close to others and felt like she had to keep her distance; for she knew that it wouldn't last long and she would be transferred somewhere else having to go through the same routine all over again. "Well, its just me and Nanako here so it'll be nice having someone else around the house. So long as you're here you're part of the family, so make yourself at home." Dojima said, "Thank you very much for taking me in." She said, "What are you being so formal for? You're making Nanako nervous." Dojima said, she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, anyways. Let's eat!" Dojima declared, as the three of had started to begin eating their food. Suddenly Dojima's phone had rung, "Ugh, who could be calling at this hour?" Dojima complained, as he answered his phone. "Dojima speaking. Mm-hm. Yeah? I see, so where is it? All right, I'm on my way." Dojima said, before he hung up his phone. "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze. Sorry, but I got some business I gotta take care of. Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako help her out ok?" Dojima asked Nanako, "Ok." Nanako replied sadly, while he'd gotten his stuff and put his shoes on. "Make sure to keep the door locked. Well, I'm off." Dojima said, locking the door behind him as he left.

Nanako waved reluctantly, as her Dad left and turned the TV on before she sat back down at the table. "…For this week. Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tommorow's forecast." The TV continued on in the background, "Let's eat." Nanako said, she had started eating her food; with a crestfallen look in her eyes. The same look she's had before in her eyes. One of sadness and loneliness, she had to do something to comfort her cousin and put her at ease. "So, I'm guessing this happens a lot, huh?" She asked Nanako, as she began eating her food. "Yeah, it's always like this. Dad has to work." Nanako said, "I see, well if it makes you feel any better; I know exactly how you feel." She said, as Nanako was surprised by what she said. For she wasn't expecting that someone else knew the same pain she felt.

She had changed the channel to a quiz show that Nanako liked. After sometime during the quiz show it had gone to commercial. "At Junes everyday is customer appreciation day." The commercial showcased the deals from Junes. "Everyday is great at your Junes." The spokeswoman sang as the jingle for the store played. "Everyday is great at your Junes." Nanako sang as she smiled. "I love that song!" Nanako said, happily. "I wouldn't mind hearing you sing some more." She said, Nanako continued singing the Junes song until the quiz show came back on.

Once they had finished eating, she took their dishes to the sink and got to work on washing them; while Nanako was watching her show. She noticed how under utilized the kitchen was, she finished washing the dishes and put them away. The rest of the night was mostly uneventful, Nanako watched her show until it was her bedtime; while she was doing a bit of tidying up.

She had said good night to Nanako before she headed upstairs to her room, and got ready for bed herself as she changed into her pajamas and laid out the futon. She had checked the calendar before heading to bed. "Only five days left until my sixteenth birthday." She thought, as that day was also the same day as Christmas. She headed to bed for the night. However, she would experience something strange amidst her slumber. End of chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Done with this chapter! It took me a while but I finally finished the first chapter of the first arc. Next chapter we will focus on Adachi's POV before they awaken. Whether or not I include the awakening depends on how long the chapter is.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: Fateful Enconter


	2. Fateful Enconter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We follow Adachi leading up to a chance encounter with the one he met in The Velvet Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I only just posted the first chapter of the story recently and it already has a lot of views. Which is awesome! Thank you all so much, I hope you all will continue to support this story. Also thank you Bag of Holding and Felipe1402XZA for following.
> 
> Now going forward with my boy Adachi he will still be his cynical self, but unlike in the original timeline where he didn't have bonds. In this timeline he has bonds, people who care about him. That's why his personally is still somewhat the same, but has also changed due to this.
> 
> In this chapter I'll be introducing two of my many OC's, one of which was mentioned in the last chapter. I'll also be introducing a certain character , though I'm not saying who it is since that will be revealed in the story until next chapter.
> 
> Now let us continue
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's

12/20/2011

Weather: Partly Cloudy

(Adachi's POV)

He had awoke from the weird ass dream he had, finding himself in his bedroom within the apartment he resided in. That Nagato supplied him with. "Man, I haven't had a dream like that since I first met Sensei. Just what the hell was that place, and who were those people? The Velvet Room, I think that's what that's what the old man called it. It was just too weird." He thought, and he's experienced a lot of weird stuff ever since he met Rin and her grandpa; not that he minded though its definitely kept his life from being boring. At least, that was case until he got transferred out here to the middle of nowhere.

Although the official report stated that it was a case of self defense, even though he shot someone.. But even those circumstances were unnatural, at least to a normal person that is. What really happened was that he came across a guy who was an absolute scumbag. He wanted nothing more than to shoot this utter piece of trash, he doubt that anyone would care what would happen to an asshole like him. However he didn't see the point, so he put his gun back in his holster; turned around and started heading back to his apartment. Though things wouldn't end that easily, as the same man appeared before him; but he had a vicious look in his eyes as the man straight up attacked him. If he didn't fight back he would've been dead.

He knew that something was wrong with him, obviously it must've been them as he heard about how those that encounter that horrid group known as Mokushiroku don't end up the same. As he saw what those scumbags did to his childhood friend Kai and his little sister Mai, along with his girlfriend Rin years ago. But he didn't really know how to explain it to others, even though yeah we lived in a world where those with abilities exist; and yeah people knew about them but they were pretty much thought of as myths. So it would be pretty hard to prove that a group of evil ability users were involved with making someone go insane. If it were that easy, well he wouldn't be out here in this hick town. Though he was lucky he just only got transferred, instead of fired or worse. But that was thanks to Nagato.

They unfortunately had a way to cover their tracks, even after having made a name for themselves. Even with the extensive network Nagato had. That's why when they take someone they don't come back, and if they do it's either because they're dead or absolutely messed up physically, mentally, or both.

He had gotten up to get ready for work. The thing he absolutely loathed, it didn't used to be like that but the fact that his new partner chews him out; add in the fact that it was completely and utterly boring as hell really didn't help either. That's why he was so excited about what the old man had said to him and the woman behind the veil in that weird ass place. Speaking of which, he could've sworn he heard that name before. Yui Narukami wasn't it? I think Rin mentioned before that she had been writing to a girl who went by that same name. Could it have been the same person? Not only that, but he definitely knew that the last name was familiar to him. It was the same last name of his former partner Ryuko Narukami.

Though on the surface she may be intimidating, she's actually a kind, happy go lucky person who cared for others; though she can be a bit cold at times but that's mostly just an act. After all, it's a lot harder for women to work on the force and able to gain the respect of her peers. She was also one of the only other people who actually believed him. She was kind of like a mom to him, not just to him but to Rin as well.

"Good Morning." His sensei said, as he greeted his student. "Oh, hey. Morning." he lazily replied, still not having fully awakened from his slumber. He thought about asking his sensei if he's ever heard of a place known as The Velvet Room. He didn't really have anything else to go on. "Hey, Sensei. Have you ever heard of a place called The Velvet Room?" Adachi asked his sensei, "Well, I know that I've heard about it from Rin. I've never seen it fully myself, but I've seen the door leading to it. For some strange reason though, I was never allowed in; I'm not too sure as to why that was the case; even to this day. If you want to know more, I'd suggest you speak to Rin; she'd be the best person to ask about The Velvet Room." His sensei suggested, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He agreed, "Though why do you want to know about that place anyway? "Have you been there yourself Tohru?"His sensei asked, "Yeah, last night actually. Me and a woman were brought there. I thought it was maybe just some weird ass dream due to me being drunk, but then again I thought the same thing after the night you and I first met. So then, maybe what happened last night was real." He said, toying with the idea. As a huge ass grin crept up onto his face, excited for what's to come. "A woman? Who was she?" His sensei asked, "I dunno know, all I know is that her name was Yui Narukami and what she sounded like; that's all I know so far." He answered, "Well, not much that I can really do about it now. Any questions I have, will just have to wait."

He said, putting the questions in the back of his mind for later. While he continued getting ready for work "Right, though I do wonder if she's the same Yui that Rin has been writing to for these past years?" His sensei asked, "Who knows, but I was wondering the same thing. Either way it doesn't really matter all that much. It is interesting though" He said, as he finished getting dressed and had started making some tamagoyaki for breakfast. He knew enough to make some dishes, but nothing fancy. At the time when he was younger, he didn't see the need to learn something like cooking. Since his parents didn't really care how he spent his time, as long as his grades were good. During one of Rin's visits she offered to teach him how to cook. Though, anything I make is nothing compared to hers or Yuri's cooking; but it was better than the crap his mom made for him. Once he had finished his meal and put the dishes in the sink to be washed at a later time, he grabbed his jacket, scarf, and gloves. He headed straight out the door, towards the police station.

He made his way to the bus stop to get to Okina City, he normally would drive down there himself. However, his car was being repaired at the moment; due to it having blown a gasket. But guess it couldn't be helped, he sighed as he got to the station; beginning his usual daily routine. Which usually consists of being ordered around by his seniors, doing coffee runs, along with doing smoke runs for Dojima-san, boring ass paperwork, taking calls, or patrolling. He had been here for about a month now, and there were no major incidents aside from a hit and run case a few years back. Other than that nothing really happened in this boring backwater town, it was absolutely infuriating at times. Though, now it seems that something exciting was finally going to happen. It may seen childish, but even though the main reason he joined the force other than to carry a gun. Was to be a hero, to be important to someone. Over time he had grew a love for solving mysteries, as he tried to help not only his childhood friend Totsuka Mayuri find out more about the mysterious girl she met when we were kids. Which we later found out was actually Rin, and she had brought along her own string of mysteries to unravel; but also as to who killed Kai's little sister. So far, all he knew is that in someway those jerks were involved somehow; and that most likely those dirtbags would be the ones to cause whatever it was that old man was talking about.

(Insert: Deductions)

As the morning passed, while he was listening to his seniors laugh at some joke. It was probably about a stupid ass mistake he made a while ago, his mind drifted back to last night's dream thinking back on it. Since he didn't have anything better to do, he took out his notepad and began to write down the info the old man gave him. He had wrote down which parts were important, and which parts were not. Though most of it ended up going in the useless pile. The introduction and acquaintance weren't important, neither was the introduction of the attendant herself. That mystery would have to wait for another time. Now, as for the stuff that was actually useful. What exactly was The Velvet Room? What is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter? Was it another dimension? His mind paused at that thought, he couldn't believe that such a thought crossed his mind. But he didn't deny it though, as he in a way have been to other dimensions before himself a couple times. The first was when he met his sensei, and the second was when he visited Rin while she was in stasis. As he still wasn't busy at the moment, he continued writing down his suspicions. From what the old man said, it seemed that we weren't the first ones who've been there before. If that's so, then how many have there been and was Rin one of them? That could explain as to how she knew about that place. Also, what the heck was this so called destiny that the old man was talking about? Just what kind of crap did he get mixed up in this time? He knew that he wouldn't be able to get the answers for his questions right now, and the only lead he had at that moment was Rin. He thought, before he was about to put his notepad away for the time being; a massive headache hit him like a ton of bricks. He held his head in response to the pain.

He tried to hide the pain, unfortunately someone had noticed; while passing by. A man in his early thrities, with spiky short white hair and green eyes. His appearance though average, you could tell how tired he was; like he had something weighing down on him. Which wasn't too far off the mark, he was wearing his standard police uniform. "Hey, Adachi, you alright?" Kai asked, concerned for him. "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night." He said to Kai, not really sure how to explain what happened last night. Because although Kai has gone through his own type of weird crap, he has a hard time dealing with it. He still remembers how Kai freaked out when he met his sensei for the first time. I don't really blame him though, any sane person would've done the same thing after having seen a demon. So it was probably best to just keep that to himself for now. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure if what happened last night was real or not. "Well, since today's been a slow day and Dojima-san hasn't come in either. Why not take the rest of the day off?" Kai suggested, as he smiled before he left. He smirked as he shrugged his shoulders, "Oh well, at least I got a free day off." He thought, before he grabbed his jacket and his stuff. He made his way out of the station and to the bus stop.

Once he got on, he headed towards the hospital to go visit his girlfriend. Visiting her was pretty much one of the only good things he had to look forward to, especially whenever he had a crappy day at work. She was the type of person that could relieve your sorrows than any kind of booze could just by being around her. He tried his best to visit her whenever he could, though it was hard to do so at times due to work. Though, he didn't have to worry too much about that since it was a lot more quiet here which allowed him to be able to visit her more often than when he was stationed in the city. After all it was only fair, as she would always try to make time to come visit whenever she was on break for school even after she transferred overseas that one year.

After the bus came to a stop, he got off and made his way to the room Rin was staying in. As he signed in before heading up, not many people are allowed to see her; since her family has so many enemies due to her grandma being an absolute pain in the ass and shady as hell despite looking so sweet and kind. It was nothing but an act, a mask she wore not just around her people and the general public; but to her family as well. It was so bad that Rin's mom had to leave everything behind. It's kind of ironic in a way, as that was also the case with Rin and her dad the only difference is that she still wanted a relationship with him. Unlike her mom, who wanted nothing else to do with her grandma; but that's just the kind of person she was. Hell, she even cared for a worthless piece of garbage like him. Even after finding out what and who she was, she still accepted him.

The hospital room was as you'd normally see in one. The walls and ceiling were plain, there was the equipment that was used, along with a TV; though he knew that it was pretty much useless, and a bed. The only difference being, that who was currently occupying it at the moment. There laying in the bed encased in a beautiful crystalline shell was Corina Kurosawa, though she prefers to be called Rin.

Her body was in state of stasis, as she was going through what her people call a transformation state. A period of time where they go through a state of metamorphosis. Similar as to what a caterpillar goes through before becoming a butterfly. Normally when they go through this they revert back into their gems and the shell surrounding it is much harder and durable. Each one's transformation was different, and unique for her kind as they go through this process and how much time it takes. However, that's not the case with those with Celestial blood. The difference is that they don't revert back into their gems, instead their bodies are instead put in stasis as their souls are sent to this other plane of reality, known as The Celestial Realm. Where they are able to train and hone their abilities. So far Rin's been going through this for almost two years now.

(Insert: Peaceful Sleep from Nier Automata)

A small smile grew, as he looked at the shell lined with beautiful blue and purple gems. The room had begun to change as he was no longer within the hospital room, but under a beautiful starry night sky as he was brought to The Celestial Realm. This was something else only those with Celestial blood could do, they not only could bring people in by changing the reality around them. But were also aware of their surroundings, however it's only the surrounding area where they're encased in. Since they use it as a way to defend themselves when they're in this state. Due to their shells being more fragile and less durable. A woman, who was almost in her early twenties appeared before him, still in the middle of her training. Having sensed his presence, she stopped and turned around. "Ah, Tohru. You're here early today." Rin said, surprised to see him. Normally, by the time he gets here she's usually finished with her training for the day and working on making dinner. "Yeah, I got the rest of the day off, that's why." He said, "Oh, well that's good that they let you leave early." Rin said, as she smiled gently at him. "Yeah, today was pretty slow." He said, while he scratched the back of his head. "So nothing interesting as usual then? Not even Dojima-san yelling at you again?" Rin asked, "Nah, he didn't even come in today. So at least my ears got a break from his barking today." Rin laughed, "Yes, though it would be nice if you didn't have to deal with that at all." Rin said, "Well it can't be helped I guess. After all, he's the one who can't control that temper of his." He said, jokingly as he laughed. "He must have some serious anger issues then." She smirked, while he laughed.

After they had talked for a while, he began to gather his thoughts and ask her about that place. "Is thete something on your mind, Tohru?" Rin asked him, "Well, actually yeah. Last night, I had this really weird dream. Though I'm not really sure if it was a dream or not." He said, "Hm, what was it about?" Rin asked him curiously. "Me and this woman were brought to this place called The Velvet Room, and there was this old man with a long nose and a young woman clad in blue. He blathered on about how we had an intriguing destiny, how there would be some sort of disaster in the future, and that there would be a mystery we needed to solve; if we don't then our future will be lost or something like that."

He said, as he explained to Rin. Rin looked at him with a serious look in her eyes, as she soaked up the information he gave her. "I see, I didn't expect that you would be sent there. I'm glad you at least got to meet Igor-san and his attendant though." Rin said, with a sad look on her face. "So, you have been there before then? Then maybe you can tell me more just what exactly that place is?" He asked, "The Velvet Room, is where those who are chosen by fate to prevent a horrible tragedy from occurring. They are known as Wild Cards, those with the potential to become ability users. Those such abilities are known as Personas." Rin explained, though he was confused. "What the hell is a Persona?" He asked, "Right, I can understand why'd you be confused. It's not something that's easy to explain with words but best to experience it for yourself. You'll understand once you awaken it." Rin said, as she smiled at him reassuringly. He sighed, and decided to just drop the issue for now. There was no point of pushing it for now, and he moved on to his next question. "OK, then. So I get that only certain people are allowed to enter, which explains why sensei couldn't. But what exactly is The Velvet Room? The old man said it was a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Just what the hell did he mean by that? Is it another dimension or what?" He asked, "Yes, that's basically what it is in a nutshell. But in actuality it is a realm that exists between humanity's consciousness. It's kind of like what The Celestial Realm is. Does that help make any sense?" Rin asked him, "I think so." He said not completely sure. "Don't worry, it will make more sense as you continue on your journey."

"Now then, do you mind if I ask you something?" Rin asked, "Sure, what?" He asked her, "You said there was a woman there as well. Did you happen to find out what her name was?" Rin asked, "Uh, yeah. It was Yui Narukami." He said, when he did a look of sheer utter terror and shock aligned her face. "Why?" She asked quietly as she trembled. "Why did she have to be chosen?!" She asked, as she began to cry. He held her, as Rin wept until she started to calm down. "Heh, fate can be so cruel sometimes." Rin chuckled sadly, "Yeah, life can be a piece of utter crap at times." He said, as he held her and stroked her hair. "So, I'm guessing she's the same one you've been writing to." He surmised, "Yes, she is." Rin said, "I honestly wasn't expecting her to get wrapped up in this, but I guess that can't be helped." Rin said solemnly, "Why? Is it really such a bad thing? I mean I get you want to protect her from this, and that you don't want her going through the same crap we did but still." He asked, not really understanding what the problem was. "Yes, it is. Because of what happened almost two years ago.. I lost my little brother Minato Arisato he sacrificed himself to save this world by becoming The Great Seal. To put such a task like this on her shoulders was the last thing I wanted for her. Even though I know she's strong, but still she's like a little sister to me so of course I want to protect her from this. I know that's foolish of me, heh I wonder if this is how Yuri felt." Rin said, with a forlorn look on her face. This shocked him, he knew that Rin's brother died around the same time she went into her transformation; but Rin never gave him the details. He figured it was something she didn't really wanna task about. "I see, yeah I get why you'd feel that way, but she has you right? You've already been through something like this before so unlike you and your brother she wouldn't be going in blind. After all, you're basically Narukami's sensei. Plus, she's got me to back her up as well; so don't worry it'll be ok." He said, assuringly. Rin nodded, looking at him with a small smile returning to her face. "Yes, thank you Tohru." Rin said, softly.

"You ok now?"" He asked her, finally letting her go. "Yes, I'm alright now." Rin replied, having started to return to normal. "I honestly wasn't expecting this, but it seems that the time's come for me to pass on my knowledge to the next generation. I just didn't think it would be this soon though. But that's just how things go sometimes." Rin said, then let out a sigh. "Well, is that everything you needed to ask me?" Rin asked, "Nah, I think I'm good for now." He said, "Anyway, I think I'm gonna head out now." He said, "Alright, I look forward to your next visit." Rin said slyly, "Oh, yeah. Well I'll try not to keep you waiting too long then. Hopefully, next time it will be a more pleasant experience." He said, with a smug grin on his face as he looked at her. "I'd like that." Rin said, before he left; not wanting to leave but knew he needed to let her get back to her training. Besides, it will give him something to look forward to the next time he comes. As he headed back down to the bus stop and made his way back towards the apartment.

On his way back, he noticed how late it had gotten. He must have been in there for quite a while. It was already late into the afternoon by the time he got back to the shopping district. When he was making his way to the apartment complex, he almost missed the young girl with silver hair; who slipped on a patch of ice. Being the nice guy he was, he reached out and caught her before she fell. "Whoa! Careful there, the ice can get outta hand around here sometimes. You ok?" He asked, while he helped the young girl up. "Yeah, thanks." The young girl said, he stared at her; recognizing the quiet tone of her voice. For it was the same voice as the woman behind the veil. He didn't know how to approach the situation, if he were to just up and say. 'Hey there, you're the girl that was in this dream I had and you and I have some strange destiny.' Yeah, right she would think he's crazy. It was probably best not mention that right now. Not only that, he wasn't entirely sure if this was even the same person that he saw. Coming out of his own thoughts, he noticed that the young girl had been staring at him. He smiled nervously, "Uh, have we met somewhere before?" He asked, "Hm, oh no. Its just that you sounded like someone that I heard before, that's all. Sorry." The young girl said, "Oh, I see." He said, "Anyway, I didn't hit you or made you drop anything did I?" The young girl asked, "No worries, both me and my stuff are fine." He said, giving her a reassuring smile. "That's good, I'm glad to hear that." The young girl said, relieved at that. "I'm Yui Narukami, I just moved here. And you are?" Yui asked, he knew right then that there was no doubt that this was her. To think he end up meeting her in a place like this, and that she was his former partner's kid as well. She definitely didn't look anything like her mom though. She most likely got most of her looks from her dad's side: with her facial features, light skin, and her long braided silver hair. The only thing that she got from her mom were her gray, stone cold eyes that hid her emotions. Same with her personality as well she was kind like her mom, but was more quiet, gentle even. It was really weird seeing how different the two were, even the way they presented themselves as Yui stood waiting for him to introduce himself. "I'm Tohru Adachi, I'm a detective, I just moved here myself about a month ago." He said, as he introduced himself to her. "I see, well I'm glad that you're helping keeping us safe. You look like someone that people can depend on." Yui said, as she smiled at him. He took pride in that, at least someone else saw that in him. He tried to at least be something like that to others. "Oh, I should be going now, Dojima and Nanako are waiting for me. It was nice meeting you Adachi-san." Yui said, before she left; though not before saying goodbye. Once Narukami-chan was out of sight he made his way inside his apartment. He took off his shoes, scarf, gloves, and shrugged off his jacket; before entering the apartment.

Later that evening, he had sat down and took out his notepad and began to write down his findings from his discussion earlier with Rin. Most of the questions he had were answered, though he may have gotten answers but those answers just brought up new questions; like what exactly was this Persona thing Rin mentioned? He had a feeling it was some sort of ability, though that much was certain enough. Also, just who else has been there before? Rin probably didn't know that, since like him and Narukami-chan she was one of the most recent patrons. He had pretty much come to the conclusion that although The Velvet Room doesn't exist in this reality, however at the same time it does exist; but on a separate plane of reality within the consciousness of humans. He put his notepad away, and went to make himself some curry; as he thought back to his encounter with Narukami he could definitely see how Rin could get along with her. Though, he was curious about how much she really knew about Rin. Most likely, Rin avoided talking about such things if how she reacted was any indication; even though she trusted Narukami-chan.

Once he had finished making the curry, he went to go sit down and eat his meal. While he was eating, he had watched some TV. It was a bit strange though, normally he would have dinner with Rin, but that was mostly because of him getting off early. As the evening continued on throughout the apartment. He put his dishes in the sink before heading to bed. His place somewhat decent, though messy. It wasn't anything too bad, it was at least better than how it was before he first came here. There were documents and papers strewn about on the table, along with his laptop. The kitchen was a bit of a mess, but he'd get to that later. His hamper was full of dirty clothes, which he needed to wash, and his garbage full. His apartment was nothing particularly special, just enough to suit his needs. The apartment consisted of: a medium sized kitchen, one bedroom, one bathroom, a couch, a small table, and a TV. He definitely needed some sleep, it was already pretty late anyways; as he made his way towards the bedroom. However, he along with another would experience something strange during their slumber. End of chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter finished, now that our two main protagonists have been introduced our story can truly begin. I had to go back and change the chapter a bit because I didn't know until recently that in Japan it wasn't ok for boyfriend and girlfriend to live together. But no worries.
> 
> In this chapter I finally got to fully introduce Rin, who is going to play more of an advisor/mentor role to our main party though she'll have some really cool action scenes though. However, I'm not gonna go in-depth on her character until later on in the story. Also, I introduced Kai; one of my major side characters who'll get more fleshed out as the story continues. The same goes for my boy Nagato as well.
> 
> By the way, in case you all were wondering. Tamagoyaki, is a rolled omelet. It can be either sweet or savory, depending on what ingredients you use.
> 
> Curry is, one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: curry rice, curry udon, and curry bread. The very common "curry rice" is most often referred to simply as "curry".
> 
> His sensei actually has his own place, but has it registered under a different name. If he's not busy training Adachi, he's usually looking into things in regards to Mokushiroku.
> 
> This next chapter may take me a bit longer than usual due to next week being Christmas, which is a shame. I really wanted to get out the Christmas Eve and Yui's birthday chapters out before then. But because I had to completely scrap Chapter 1 and redo it. That's why it's taking a bit longer to get there, but eventually we'll get there.
> 
> Please excuse my writing. As I said back in the previous chapter this is my second time writing a fanfic so I don't have much experience.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: Prelude


	3. Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we have the build up and setup before the Awakening As we focus on the more wholesome moments in this chapter, though there will still be some action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I've been writing this chapter I thought I would be getting to their Awakening in this chapter and finally reveal who Adachi's sensei is. Unfortunately that just wasn't meant to be this time around.
> 
> This chapter instead will focus on my first action scene, along with more setup as we build up to their Awakening.
> 
> Now let us continue
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters andersona settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's

?

(insert: A Strange World)

Deep within the midst of the subconscious, we arrive at a place covered in fog. With nothing around them, except a strange floor covered in red cubes. As two people chosen by fate, have been brought here to test their resolve before they awaken their power within.

Yui had woken up first, as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She had spotted a man next to her, who she recognized was Adachi-san. She tried to wake him up, as she was scared not knowing what was nearby. "Hey, Adachi-san wake up." Yui shook harder trying to pull Adachi-san out of his slumber. "Please, I don't know where we are." Adachi groaned, for he was pissed that he was woken up before his alarm went off. "What the frick?" Adachi groaned out, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Why am I?" Adachi stopped as his eyes shot open, as he finally took in his surroundings noticing that he was no longer in his apartment. "What the hell?! Where the frick am I?!" Adachi said, he stood up and looked around; not noticing Narukami next to him. "You don't know where we are either?" Yui asked, her voice trembling with fear. As she began to stand up, it had made Adachi jump back, surprised. Before he fell off the path, Yui reached out her hand and pulled him up. "Careful, I don't know how far down the ground is. Or if there even is on." Yui stated, peering over. Adachi looked behind him and paled, seeing how close his feet were teetering on the edge of the path. Yui reached out and pulled Adachi back towards the path, he let out a sigh of relief as he let go of Yui's hand. He looked around trying to find something that would help him figure out where they were. "So, got any idea where we are?" Adachi asked, Yui shook her head in response. "No, sorry I don't. I just woke up here not too long ago." Yui said, nervously. "Well, that doesn't help." Adachi said, annoyed at the situation. Yui was saddened that she couldn't be of much help to Adachi-san. Adachi took notice of this, he knew things were already stressful as is. Getting annoyed at the young girl wasn't going to help, he tried to her at ease. He sighed, "Don't worry about it, Narukami-chan. It's not your fault we're stuck here." Adachi said, before he scratched the back of his head. "I'm just trying to figure out how to get us outta here." Adachi reassured Yui, as he rubbed her head. Yui's face had brighten up a bit after hearing that, and had started to calm down. Though wishing she could be of more help to the young detective. Adachi looked behind them seeing that the path behind them wasn't there and only kept going on to who knows where it lead. "Well, looks like the only choice we got is forward." Adachi said, Ihe began to lead the way; and the two made their way through the fog.

The two continued forward along the path with only the red panels on the floor to guide their way through the thick fog. As they continued, they were careful to watch their footing making sure not to fall off the pathway. They didn't know how much time had passed since they first arrived. Adachi had grew more on edge, keeping his senses honed. Not knowing of what lied ahead, while Yui's nervousness grew; the unease she felt earlier had returned due to this place. They suddenly heard a voice. "Do you wish to know the truth?" The two were shocked, they looked around trying to find where the voice was coming from. It flat out pissed Adachi off at whoever's voice it was. He was already on edge enough as is. Yui, however was frightened; but she would be lying to herself if she didn't say that she was a bit curious at the voice's words. They had mustered up their courage and continued onwards, though as time passed since then and the tension in the air hadn't eased up; in fact it had gotten worse. It was to the point that they had quickened their pace. When the voice chimed again Yui screamed, as she squeezed Adachi, Adachi held her; trying to be brave in front of the young girl. For he was scared as well, but excited at the same time. "If it is the truth you so desire, then come and find me." It had said, they began to run as they were both scared out of their minds. The voice was taunting them, mocking them of their plight. Eventually they reached a strange door, however they didn't notice it until they rammed right straight into it and fell on their backs.

They had nursed the wounds they'd gotten from crashing into the door. "Who put that wall there?" Adachi groaned, he looked up and noticed that it wasn't a wall but a door. The voice chuckled, it had startled them as they stood up. They looked at the strange door and came to the same conclusion, that whoever brought them here and whoever it was that was speaking to them had to be beyond it. Both of them have had enough of this and wanted to get out of here. With their determination growing, they grabbed hold of their resolve and reached out; touching the door.

(Insert: Borderline To Madness)

It had opened, with a bright light filling the room. When they entered, the floor was completely surrounded in fog; and they had felt something in both of their hands. Yui bared a katana in hand, the blade was chipped and the blue hilt was worn showing its age. Yui was confused as to why she had it, though she was comfortable with it. She held the blade, and took her stance. Adachi's weapon, however was different from Yui's a weapon he was all to familiar with, a gun. His body was on full alert, he gripped the gun his instincts kicking in. Of course, that wasn't the only weapon he had in his arsenal. Summoning a blade within his other hand. The hilt of the blade was covered in black mangled roots, while the blade was a mixture of red and black with a design akin to that of a needle with a hollow structure. He noticed how Narukami-chan held her sword, he was impressed on how she held herself; she probably took kendo. "Well, good to know that she'll at least be able to back me up." Adachi thought, he took his gun in one hand and his blade in the other. Focusing his gaze ahead onto whatever threat lied ahead, as he took his stance.

The fog surrounding them began to lift, like a curtain; unveiling a figure before the two. Its features unbeknown to them as they could not distinguish who was there before them. "So you are the ones who have come." It mused, the two of them stared, confused by the meaning of the words hidden by the figure. "Although, I must say. I was not expecting two to be chasing after me" It said, intrigued by this new development. Adachi growled, aiming the gun at whoever the hell this person was. Not noticing that the gun had fired by itself. "And just what do you mean by that? Who the hell are you?!" Adachi asked, enraged by how this mysterious figure was just toying with them. Yui, kept her eyes fixed on her opponent, observing its movements. Trying to pinpoint it within the fog, looking for some sort of opening. She noticed that after Adachi-san's gun fired, the fog had shifted. Yui knew right then and there that was where it was hiding. Yui was about to go on the offensive, but she knew it would be a bad idea to just charge in and slash at it with her sword. She tried to think of another way to hit it. Just then, Yui felt something inside her calling out to her. It was strange, as it felt familiar somehow. She closed her eyes, reaching out for it and called out to the strange presence that lied within her. As a bolt of lighting came crashing down onto the mysterious figure, however it had missed. "Hm, it seems that you can see through the fog, if only a little." It said, Adachi was surprised at what he just saw. His mouth agape, "No way! What the hell just happened?! Was that an ability Narukami-chan used just now? But how?!" So many questions ran through Adachi's head at the moment, but only one came to the forefront of his mind. "Hey, Narukami-chan! Tell me, how you did that just now?" Adachi demanded, "I'm not sure, I felt something calling out to me, and when I responded to it. Well, you saw what happened next." Yui explained to him, unsure as to really how to explain the sensation she felt just then. Adachi however, had some idea of what she meant. He smirked, before he lowered the gun in his right hand and raised his blade before he did the same as Narukami-chan did. He focused, trying to reach out and find the presence Narukami-chan was referring to. It took him a bit, but he finally found it. The presence had felt strange, yet familiar to him at the same time. It was welcoming, nonetheless like an old friend. He took hold of it and sent a blast of lightning at the asshole. Though the lightning itself was completely different from Narukami-chan's. It was darker and more chaotic in nature than hers. They continued their assult, trying to bring their target down. Letting out a barrage of magic, sword slashes and gunshots.

They felt as if they were making some progress, but then. "You two are interesting, however I won't be caught so easily. If it is the truth that you both wish to find. Know this, that the search will be much harder." It said, as it spread out the fog surrounding them; making it much thicker and harder to see than before. "No matter who it is, people only see what they want to see. They see things how they want it to look, as the fog will only thicken." It continued on, "Crap, this isn't good." Adachi thought, he tried to keep Narukami in his sight. "The fog's gotten more dense, it will be much harder for us to attack." Yui observed, trying not to lose Adachi-san. Their progress had grinded to a slow creeping halt. As they made their way to where they thought the mysterious figure was, and tried attacking it. However their efforts were in vain, they felt their attacks weren't making its mark. "I wonder if we will meet again, in a place other than this. I look forward to it." It said, before the room began to fill with darkness. Their minds grew heavy, as they were about to let out another onslaught of attacks. Morning came and the two awoke in their respected quarters.

12/21/2011

Weather: Cloudy

(Yui's POV)

She heard a small knock on the door as she was still groggy, not having fully awakened yet. "Breakfast is ready." Nanako said, "Alright, I'll be down in a minute." She replied, after she sat up. Nanako went back downstairs, she had started preparing for her first day at her new school. Her body was strangely sore when she moved throughout the room, wondering if what happened last night actually happened. She tried to piece together the events prior. From going through that corridor, to battling that strange person alongside Adachi-san, and the words it said to them. "Just what did it all mean?" She thought, confused by it all. While she changed into her winter school uniform, she grabbed her bag and her yellow cardigan and scarf, her long white coat, and bag. She quickly took note before heading down, that she still needed to finish organizing her things later. Though, hopefully the rest of her things would get here before then. She also still needed to write to Rin as well. She'd like to visit her at some point once she finally got settled in.

After she finished she made her way downstairs to join Nanako for breakfast. "Morning." Nanako said, as she came down. "Good Morning, Nanako." She replied, smiling at her cousin; while putting her shoes, coat, and bag by the door before sitting down at the table to eat. "Let's eat." Nanako declared, after she had sat down in one of the chairs. "Did you make this, Nanako?" She asked, eyeing the simple dish in front of her. "Uh huh, I can make sunny side eggs and toast. Dad can't cook though so I buy dinner." Nanako stated, for she was amazed at how responsible her cousin was at such a young age. She was also a bit surprised to hear that her uncle couldn't cook. "Well, maybe I could make something for you sometime." She suggested, "You can cook?!" Nanako asked, looking at her starry eyed. "Yeah, since my parents were usually busy. I pretty much had to." She said sadly, as the two of them began to eat. She noticed that her uncle wasn't around. "Hey, where's your Dad?" She asked, "There was trouble, so he got called in. He won't back till late tonight." Nanako said, "I see." She said, while they continued eating. "You start school today, right?" Nanako asked, she nodded in response. "Well my school's on the way, so let's walk together?" Nanako asked, "Sure, I'd like that." She replied, "By the way Nanako, do you know how to braid hair?" She asked her cousin, "Yeah, why?" Nanako asked, "Well, after breakfast would you mind helping me braid mine?" She asked, Nanako happily nodded in response. Once they had finished their meal, they attended to their dishes and Nanako got to braiding her hair. When Nanako had finished, her hair was up in two twin braids. She thanked her cousin, and they'd got their stuff; and put their shoes and coats on before locking the door behind them and headed out

The two girls enjoyed each others company, they'd walked together until they arrived at the school zone around the Samegawa Flood Plain. "You just head straight up from here." Nanako said, while she showed her the way. "My school's this way, bye!" Nanako said, "Ok, have a nice day." She said, before they went there separate ways. She began to climb the hill leading up to the school. It wasn't an easy one at that, for she had to be careful this time around; otherwise she would land smack dab on the cold hard ground. Though, she did have to hurry up a bit, not wanting to be late; while passing by some students along the way. Who had started whispering, it was most likely about her. Figures, she knew it was only a matter of time; and now she would be known as the new girl. Just like how it was with all of the other times she'd transferred. Though, it was annoying however; since the second semester was almost over. But that just couldn't be helped, well at least she got to finish exams before she transfered. Her scores should be in soon, though she really wasn't looking forward to being known as the smartest girl in her class once people saw her grades. People either were envious of her and hated her for it. Or tried to get close to her and take advantage of that. It was already hard enough as is for her to make friends, but that made things even harder for her. Maybe things would be different and she'd find someone she could be friends with, but the chances of that were slim at best. Though, there was at least a sliver of hope; there were her upperclassmen she had met yesterday Konishi-senpai, and Shirasagi-senpai. They'd seem nice enough, perhaps maybe they could be friends. She thought on this, and had finally made it up to the school gates. Wondering what her new school life would bring.

When she entered, she hung up her coat, took off her outdoor shoes, put them in her shoe locker, and commenced to put on her indoor shoes. She then, went about asking students for directions to the faculty office. After finally finding someone who could help her find the faculty office, she made her way inside to find out which class she would be in and who her teacher would be for the remaining year.

Once she came in, she came across one of the female teachers. She had a strange headdress, which made her stand out in her mind. When she asked her for help, the strange looking teacher pulled out her file. Though, after loosing it over; she gave her a look of pity. "You poor girl." The female teacher said, she had cringed at that; her words hitting a nerve within her. "You'll be in Class 1-B, and your teacher is." Just as she was about to tell her that, an older man, with a comb over and buck teeth barged right in. "So, where's the brat that just transferred?" The male teacher asked, "Mr. Morooka, this is the new transfer student." The female teacher said, as she nudged her to introduce herself, though unnerved by the older man's presence. "Hello, I'm Yui Narukami. It's nice to meet you Morooka-sensei." She said, as she introduced herself to her new teacher. He grinned at her, which creeped her out at the fact that her teacher was basically a pervert. He came a bit closer than she'd like him to be, as he smirked, which caused a chill to run down her spine. She did her best to keep her composure. "Well, aren't you polite." Morooka said, before leaning back. "Alright, come with me. I'll take it from here, Ms. Sofue." Morooka said, before they left the faculty office and headed to the classroom.

Time had passed by so quickly, while they were in the faculty office; she didn't even realize it was already time for classes to start as the bell began to ring. They arrived at Class 1-B as Morooka slammed the door open, and yelled at the other students to shut up and sit down. "Awright, shut your traps! We got a new transfer student with us." Morooka said, taking that as the sign to enter she came into the classroom and bowed slightly. "Right, I'd better introduce our transfer student. This sad sacks been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And she's much of a loser here as she was there, so you guys better not get any ideas hitting on her! Tell 'em yer name kid, and make it quick!" Morooka demanded, she was absolutely irritated at him at his words. She wanted to punch him in the face so badly, trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm Yui Narukami, it's nice to meet you all." She said, as she introduced herself to her classmates. "Sucks, having to be the transfer student ending up in King Moron's class." One of the students whispered, "Yeah, he won't think twice about suspension if you get on his bad side. Then again we're all in the same boat." Another student whispered, she shuddered wondering just what she'd gotten herself into.

"Alright, alright, go find a seat." Morooka said, before she was able to make her way to one of the desks. One of the students called out. "Excuse me! Is it ok if Narukami-san sits over here?" The student asked, "Eh, yeah sure. You hear that? That's your new seat." Morooka said, as he prodded towards the desk. She quickly made her way to her desk and sat down. "He's the worst, huh?" The girl sitting next to her, who had brown hair shaped in a bowl cut and wore a green jacket whispered. She nodded in agreement. "Rotten luck you got stuck in his class. But we only got to deal with it for another semester and then it's off to second year! Good thing he only teaches the first years, imagine if we got him as our homeroom teacher next year. The girl said, as she smiled at her. "Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I darn well expect you all to respond in an orderly manner!" Morooka said, before he began to take roll.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, as classes went on. Time had flew by as the final bell rang, and classes finally let out. "That's all for today." Morooka said, before he left the classroom. The students were gathering their things and headed out. While she was gathering her things, and getting ready to leave herself. Two girls approached her one of which she recognized as the girl who sat next to her, the other girl who had long black hair, with a hairband in it, and was wearing a red cardigan. She was most likely a friend of hers, by how close they were despite how different the two seemed. "Hey, are you going home by yourself? If so, why don't you come with us? Oh, I nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know, I sit next to you. Right?" Chie asked as she introduced herself to her. "Of course, I remember you. It's nice to meet you Satonaka-san." She replied, smiling softly at Chie. "Well, nice to meet you! This is Yukiko Amagi, she's my best friend." Chie said as she introduced Yukiko to her. "Oh, nice to meet you. I'm sorry that this is so sudden." Yukiko apologized, while trying to make her feel welcome. "C'mon don't apologize like that, it makes me look like I have no upbringing. I just wanted to ask her some stuff, that's all." Chie said defensively, as she frowned. She chuckled at their antics, seeing how close the two girls were. "Well, it's nice to meet the two of you." She said, Chie smiled at her and put her hands behind her head. "Well anyways, we were gonna go to Junes and do some shopping. There's a huge sale going on since Christmas is so close. Wanna come?" Chie asked, inviting her. She was honestly surprised to say the least, that they'd invite her. However, before she got the chance to give them her answer. "We can't today, with it being the holidays. We'd most likely end up getting swept up into the crowds before we could even step foot into the store." Yukiko stated, Chie winced ar the thought. Before trying to think of somewhere else they could go. "Well, there's always the shopping district. Sure, it'll be busy. But it won't be as bad as Junes." Chie suggested, having finally decided on their destination. The three of them left the classroom, and enjoyed the rest of their afternoon before heading home.

They walked around the shopping district, as the three of them browsed through the many stores and chatted about various things. Such as their school, their class, and then she started to become the main topic of the conversation. They'd asked her what her old school was like, though there really wasn't much to tell as it was just like any normal school. She wasn't really all that attached to it, so it didn't bother her all that much when she had to move. It was more of an inconvenience to her if anything else, she said as she nibbled on the steak skewer in her hand. She couldn't really think of something she'd really miss all that much, nor anyone who'd come to mind that she'd miss. The two girls looked on in silence, saddened by her words. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that." Chie said, as she took a bite of her steak skewer. "Well, I never really talked to them all that much anyways." She stated, "Not even once?" Yukiko asked, she shook her head. "No, I never really had the chance to make any friends there." She replied, while she continued eating her steak. "Well, now you do, you got us." Chie declared, she was absolutely dumbfounded by Chie's words. Honestly, she felt like she was on the verge of tears after hearing Chie say that; possibly thinking that she finally found those her age that she could confide in and fully depend on. Those that she could truly call friends. "I'd like that." She said, happily. "Just be glad that you aren't a guy, otherwise Yukiko wouldn't even be able to talk to you." Chie laughed, "Can you believe she's never even had a boyfriend?" Chie asked, Yukiko blushed at this. "Chie! Come on! you didn't need to tell her that!" Yukiko said defensively, "Don't worry Yukiko, I've never had one either." She said, trying to put Yukiko at ease. "Seriously! For real?! Wow, didn't know I knew two people who've never had boyfriends before." Chie said, as she laughed. Yukiko silently thanked her, a look of relief coming onto her face. She smiled, although she felt she had a bit of a ways to go in order to obtain a strong bond between the two.

After they finished their steak tbe girls bid each other goodbye and headed home for the night. When she entered the Dojima Residence she let them know she was home, before she took off her shoes, and hung up her coat. Though, only hers and Nanako's shoes were the only ones there. Since Dojima hasn't come home from work yet, she made her way into the living room. Nanako had greeted her, before returning to her show. Nanako was absorbed in it at the moment, she made her way into the kitchen and looked to see if there was anything she could use to make dinner with. She came across a bowl of fried rice in the fridge, she tried it when she knew Nanako wasn't looking. It had lacked any type of flavor whatsoever she then put it back in the fridge. Tryimg to forget the horrid taste in her mouth, though felt as if she had gained a bit of courage from it. Having found nothing that could be of use, "Nanako, what would you like for dinner?" She asked, Nanako was surprised by her offering to make them dinner. Nanako thought for a bit, "Let's have Nabe!" Nanako decided, excited to finally have a home cooked meal. "Alright, I'll go get the ingredients then." She said, as she went and got a bit of her allowance out before putting her shoes and coat back on and headed back out. "I'll be back soon." She said, before she left.

After having returned with the ingredients, she went straight to work on making the Nabe for them, using an old recipe her grandma taught her. She noticed Nanako take an interest in what she was doing, and she asked her many questions. Which she didn't mind answering them, in fact it delighted her to see how fascinated Nanako was with the whole process. She loved every moment of it, allowing her to spend time with her cousin. She felt like she was finally able to have a fresh start, and form bonds with others.

With the Nabe finally finished, she took the pot to the table next to the TV, while she had Nanako bring the rice and made their way into the living room to enjoy their meal together. For she was glad that at the moment she was able to make Nanako happy just through something simple as a home cooked meal.

End of chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Both the corridor scene and the wholesome moments with Yui.
> 
> By the way in case you're wondering what Nabe is. Nabemono(鍋物, なべ物,nabe"cooking pot" mono"thing"), or simplynabe, is Japanese hot pot dishes, also known as one pot dishes and "things in a pot."
> 
> i honestly was tearing up while writing that part. I can really relate as for someone who also moved around a lot when I was younger. It was never easy having to move and be the new girl. Though I did make a few friends that I cherish
> 
> Going forward, even after introducing my OC's and the other party members the main focus will be Adachi. Yui, and sometimes Rin. I'll try to make sure that they all get their time to shine, even if one chapter focuses solely more on one character more than another.
> 
> This was also my first time in a long while writing an action scene. I do hope that I did a good enough job at it.
> 
> By the way, I do plan on utilizing the social stats system for both Yui and Adachi. However, there will be a bit of changes to their overall charts. I just to figure out good places in my future chapters when those stats get increased.
> 
> Now I do hope that next time we can finally get to their Awakening next chapter. Though I'll put Awakening as the next chapter title but it will just be a placeholder for now.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: Awakening


	4. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come for our two main characters to answer the call before them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it may finally be time for the Awakening to commence, and to reveal Adachi's sensei. By the time this chapter releases it will either be Christmas or after Christmas. I hope that whatever you celebrate you stay safe, and have a good one.
> 
> Now let us continue
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's

12/22/2011

Weather: Cloudy

(Yui's POV)

(Insert: Signs of Love)

The next day was pretty uneventful, as classes went on the same as usual. After they came to an end, she decided to head home for the day, and spend the afternoon with Nanako, until evening rolled around. Dojima had finally returned home from work "Oh hey, you're home." She said, as she was glad her uncle was finally back after a late night of work. Dojima grabbed some of the leftover Nabe out of the fridge. "I'm glad that you enjoy my cooking." She remarked, as her uncle was surprised at that. "Didn't know that you could cook." Dojima said, as he continued eating. Although he didn't say it, she knew her uncle liked it. She blushed at his words, as Dojima chuckled when he saw her getting all flustered over something so simple as a compliment. "Look, I know you probably used some of your allowance to get some of the stuff you needed. While I do appreciate you for the food, that said I can't let you keep buying dinner for us. I will say though, can't really complain all that much Nanako and I really appreciated it." Dojima said, meaningfully. He had gave her a small smile. Both a mixture of happiness and pride rose up inside of her at that moment, for she was able to do something nice for them.

"By the way, the rest of your stuff came. I already took them up to your room." Dojima said, she thanked him before heading up. She pulled opened the boxes, looking for the one thing she was excited to arrive the most, and not a moment later she found it her secret saving. It contained all the cash she saved up from part time jobs, gifts from relatives, and any allowance she didn't use. She was absolutely ecstatic, she had about a hundred thousand yen saved up. It had helped that she didn't really go shopping all that much. Last night was honestly the first time in a while she'd bought something, she didn't mind though. After all, while she'll be living here she'll most likely be doing most of the cooking. Maybe she could use the time to pick up a hobby, she thought as her phone suddenly rang; pulling her out of her thoughts. Seeing it was her Dad calling, she answered it straight away. "Good Afternoon, Dad." She greeted, "Ah, Yui. I'm guessing your things came in the mail?" Her Dad asked, as she sheepishly laughed. "Yeah, just now actually." She said, as she sat on the sofa, continuing the conversation with her Dad on the phone. Picking up her notes in the process and thumbed through the pages to today's lesson, trying to submit the material to memory. "How are things going over there? Is everything alright?" She asked, "Well, I'm fine at the moment. But the project on the other hand it wasn't doing so well at first anyways. It had felt like we were getting the short end of the deal and that our partners were trying to swindle us. But unfortunately for them, that just ended up flying back in their faces. We still have a long ways to go though." Her Dad said, "Well, that's good to hear. I'm glad things are going well, despite that." She hummed, as she went about and pryed the remainder of her things out. "What about you? Are you getting settled in ok?" Her Dad asked, "Yeah, I think so. Uncle Dojima and Nanako are nice, I made some friends with a couple of my classmates. I also met a couple of my seniors as well." She said, though she omitted the parts about the strange dream and meeting Adachi-san. "Good to know that you're getting along with them. Its nice to hear that you were able to make new friends. but make sure to also focus on your studies as well. Though I don't really need to tell you that." Her Dad chided, while she listened. "Oh, sorry Yui. I have to go now, we're having to pull an all nighter. make sure to go to bed early. Take care." Her Dad said, as she told him good night before the two hung up.

A soft smile grew on her face, as she was glad to hear from her Dad, and have him check up on her. It was nice, she wasn't sure when she would hear from her Mom though. It might be a while until she does. She figured that now would be a good time as any to write to Rin. She tore out one of the blank pages from her notebook and started on her letter to her old friend. Writting about the events from the past two days, along with the events in the dreams she had as well. Rin was the type of person you could talk about anything with, no matter how small it was. That's just how she was, she pretty much wad like an older sister to her. She hoped she could be something like that to Nanako, she enjoyed those small moments with her cousin. She also enjoyed seeing her uncle when she could.

Once she had finished, she had put it in the envelope ready to go in the mailbox. She made her way onto the futon, hopefully she wouldn't have anymore strange dreams tonight.

12/23/2011

Weather: Partly Sunny

She sat there, listening to her teacher's long lectures. She continuously wrote them down in her notebook. Though, at the same time she was wondering how her Mom was doing and if she was ok. Granted, she may not have been as close with her Mom as she was with her Dad; but they still loved each other though. She knew her Mom cared for her, despite being so busy with work. There were times however, when she would put on a happy face in front of them; even when she looked so tired not wanting to worry them.

Once classes had finished for the day, she decided that she'd go to Junes. Though not before stopping by the house and getting her secret savings. With Christmas only two days away, she'd thought it be nice for her to make Christmas dinner for the Dojima's along with getting some gifts for them as well; along with something to send to Rin as well. However, unfortunately her endeavors would come to a shrieking halt; after having dashed out of the classroom and picked up her things. Not before startling Chie in the process, and slipping a few times. She was so caught up in the heat of the moment, that at some point she finally realized that she couldn't remember where Junes was and had gotten herself lost.

She face palmed herself inwardly, groaning at her misfortune. She had wound up in the middle of a crossroad, looking around trying to gain her bearings within the small town."Great, just my luck." She thought, when all of a sudden she heard someone call out to her. "Hey, you're Narukami-chan. Right?" She turned around, and gazed up. Finding the source of the voice, as it was Adachi-san. The young detective waved at her as he came over, she was happy to see Adachi-san again. Even though they hadn't known each other long she'd grown attached to the young detective. "Hey, Adachi-san. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Are you headed home for the day?" She asked, "Nah, I was just about to head to Junes to pick up some coffee for the other officers. Since, I'm pretty much still the new guy around the station." Adachi said, as he scratched the back of his head. "Anyways, what about you?" Adachi asked, "Actually, I was also on my way to Junes. I was going to do some Christmas shopping but, I got lost." She admitted, before she blushed. Embarrassed of her blunder, "Well, that's nice of you." Adachi said, as he smiled at her. "Would you mind showing me the way there?" She asked, "Sure." Adachi replied as he led the way, just like he did before when they were in that strange looking corridor. Unaware that someone was following them.

12/23/2011

Weather: Partly Cloudy

(Adachi's POV)

The past couple of days had been pretty boring to say the least, save for the utterly bizzare dream he had the other night. It was basically the same as usual, like always. Today was no exception either, most of the day pretty much flew by as it was already the afternoon. He was now on his way to Junes making a coffee run for his seniors, with their orders written down. It was absolutely annoying as hell, sure he was still the newbie but he had to pay straight out of his own darn pocket for goodness sake. The least those morons could do was help out with the bill. Though, at least it allowed him to get away from those idiots; the only people he didn't lump into that category was Dojima-san and Kai. It also gave him time to think on the recent dream he had, trying to piece it all together. Grasping for some sort of clue as to what that place was, and who the mysterious figure was. He couldn't distinguish the voice, nor could he fathom its words as well. He couldn't make heads or tails of it all, he also didn't get why Narukami-chan was there with him either.

Speaking of which, on his way to Junes he had spotted the silver haired girl. "What's she doing out here?" He thought, his curiosity got the better of him without thinking he called over to the young girl. "Hey, you're Narukami-chan. Right?" He asked, as he waved at her. Though, he already knew that but wasn't too sure if she remembered him all that well. As Yui glanced up, "Hey, Adachi-san. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Are you headed home for the day?" Yui asked, "Nah, I was just about to head to Junes to pick up some coffee for the other officers. Since, I'm pretty much still the new guy around the station." He said, as he scratched the back of his head. "Anyways, what about you?" He asked, "Actually, I was also on my way to Junes. I was going to do some Christmas shopping but, I got lost." Yui admitted, before she blushed. Embarrassed of her blunder, he wasn't too surprised. Despite Inaba being a small town, there were times when he himself got lost when he first came here. Though, he sure as hell wasn't gonna tell her that. "Well, that's nice of you." He said, as he flashed one of his signature grins at the young girl. "Would you mind showing me the way there?" Yui asked him, "Sure." He replied, being the helpful detective he was. He took the lead, as he did before in that weird ass place. Though, not before noticing that someone else was following them.

While the two of them walked to Junes, they had chatted for a bit, Adachi had told Yui about all the crummy ass work his seniors put him up to, due to being the youngest out of the entire staff. The only person he had close to his age was Kai, who was four years older than him. Adachi had also told Yui how Dojima-san had basically worked him like a dog, since he first came here. Adachi couldn't begin to count how many times he had to make smoke runs, or make coffee for him. Which, that time could be used training him instead. To say that Yui was shocked was an understatement. She was infuriated that both Adachi-san's seniors and her uncle would treat Adachi-san like that. "I see, did they at least give you the money for that?" Yui asked, as Adachi flinched at the girl's question, looking away from her. This infuriated Yui even more, her suspicions being confirmed. She could tell this annoyed the young detective very much, for a moment she could've sworn she saw him scowl a bit before his crooked grin returned. "Don't get me wrong though, I like working with your uncle. He's a good guy.' Adachi said, as he chuckled. Trying to lighten the mood. Yui was saddened by his words, though not wanting to push the issue any further Adachi had changed the subject. He asked Yui how she was adjusting to her new life in Inaba, he also had trouble adjusting when he first transferred here last month.

"Wait, you were transferred?" Yui asked, confused by this. Adachi knew she wanted to know the reason as to why he was transferred, but he couldn't really tell her the full story. So Adachi gave her a summarized version of it, not knowing whether or not she'd believe him. Though, after what the two of them went through; she might be one of the few tbat would. He'd tell her at some point, but knew now wasn't the right time for that. Yui noticed his demeanor had changed, one mixed with sadness, pain, and worry among his features. It felt like he hiding something. She could tell this was something Adachi-san didn't like to talk about; let alone to someone who'd they only recently met. It was best to just leave it be for now, she knew that sooner or later Adachi-san would tell her. As they continued walking throughout the streets of Inaba, they continued their conversation as it was much more light hearted tban before; though whenever Adachi knew Yui wasn't looking he glanced behind him to see if the guy that was following them was still there. He didn't know what he was dealing with, and why he was following them. He silently hoped it wasn't one of them, although he knew that the silver haired girl before him could handle herself well in a fight; these guys weren't someone to screw around with. "Just how long was that asshole gonna keep following them? Was he gonna follow them all the way to Junes?" Adachi wondered, before returning his attention to the young girl beside him. Trying not to worry her, "Well, just hang in there. Though, it'll be pretty boring. Since Inaba doesn't have much to offer." Adachi said, as they reached the entrance to Junes.

The place was completely packed to the brim with people, all the spots in the parking lot were completely full. So many people were occupying the entrance, it was absolutely crazy. "Heh, figures that this would be the only time in the year that things would liven up in this town. With it being the holidays and all." Adachi said jokingly, as he helped Yui inside and guided her through the mess of people to the stairs. "Well, this is it. Though it may be pretty big, they do have maps so you won't have to worry about getting lost." Adachi said, "Anyways, I've got coffee to get. I'll see you later." Adachi said, "Alright, thanks for helping me get here." Yui said, afor she was grateful for his assistance. That was actually the second time, technically the third that Adachi-san had helped her out of a bind. Not just here, but in that dream as well. "If there's anything I can do to repay you." Yui said, wanting to show her appreciation for all the young detective has done. Yui was real lucky that Adachi was already in a relationship with Rin. Otherwise, he could think of a number of ways she could return the favor. "Don't even go there." Adachi thought, for he knew that line of thinking would only just get him into trouble. "Just doing my duty. Besides, they can wait a bit longer for their coffee." Adachi said, as the two bid each other goodbye.

(Insert: ZONE TIME)

Before they went their separate ways, it happened. The guy that followed them took advantage of the crowds, he pushed Adachi aside and stole Yui's bag. "My bag!" Yui yelled out, while the thief was making a run for it. Adachi inwardly cursed, as he let that two bit thief get the better of him. With him being the only one there on active duty at the moment. Adachi helped Yui up, and got out his radio to let any of the other nearby officers know of the situation at hand; before beginning to chase down said thief. With Yui not that far behind him. Excitement flowed through his veins, as he continued chasing the thief throughout the store. There was also a bit of relief, knowing that this was just some lowlife who thought they could make a quick buck by stealing from others.

After a while they somehow ended up in the electronics section in front of a display of flatscreen TVs. Thinking he finally caught him, Adachi made his way over to apprehend the thief. Disappointed that the chase was slowly coming to an end, he had to do his job. That jerk was frantically looking for a way out, completely out of breath from trying to evade his grasp. Panicing, as the young detective brought out his gun. Knowing full well that he was going to jail. The thief turned around slowly, with his hands up. To say that that jerk was shocked, was to say the least of it. As he saw who his pursuer was nothing more than a young man, younger than him even. "Keep your hands where I can see them!" Adachi commanded, while he kept his gun trained on him; making his way slowly over to him. "Ok, I'm gonna come to you. You're gonna drop the bag, and this will all end with you in cuffs. Got it?" Knowing full well he was caught, he sighed just as he was about to give himself up. But then Yui had finally caught up with Adachi-san, she stood behind him taking in the scene before her. Adachi took notice, "What the hell?! What is thinking?! She shouldn't be here!" Adachi thought, as he glanced at her. With the only answer being that it was her bag, and wanting to give the guy who made off with it a piece of her mind. Adachi understood where she was coming from, if someone stole from him he'd want to do the same thing. Still, Adachi was pissed that she followed them. If something had happened to her Dojima-san would never let him hear the end of it. He sighed, "Alright, now hand over the bag and get on your knees." Adachi demanded, however before the both of them knew it they were pushed into the TV. Instead of feeling pain and hearing a large crash of glass shattering, it felt as they were diving into a pool of water. It had all happened so fast they couldn't even process what had just occured. The two of them began to fall, not knowing where'd they land within the TV.

Meanwhile, a man wearing a purple coat, with gold accents, and a hood covering his face. Stood in front of the TV, seeing where one of his comrades last saw his student and his new friend. Curious, of where it led to. He went inside the TV, following those who'd also entered the TV.

(Insert: A Strange World)

Falling throughout the TV, as black and white borders surrounded them. Screaming as they both realized they were falling, not knowing when and where they'd finally hit the ground. Until they'd finally hit the ground with a thud from the impact, along with the force of the bag hitting them. Reeling from the fall, Yui opened her eyes; suddenly realizing that she was on top of Adachi. She quickly got off, "Oh, I'm sorry!" Yui explained, as she apologized to the young detective. "It's fine." Adachi said, as Yui helped him up.

Seeing before them, a TV set as they took in their surroundings. Trying to figure out where they were, though it was a bit hard to see. The fog surrounding the area had obscured their vision. Otherwise, they would have seen the white outlines of dead bodies skewn across the floor. Adachi took out his radio, and tried to contact the station. There was no response, just static. "Ok, no radio. maybe cell phone?" Adachi mused, putting the radio away and took out his phone. When Adachi opened his phone, he saw that there was no service. Adachi looked over to Yui, "Hey, Yui. Can you check your phone? Mine isn't working." Adachi asked, ignoring honorifics for the time being. Yui nodded, as she brought out her phone and checked it. When she did, the look on her face pretty much confirmed his suspicions. "Great, no radio or phone." Adachi thought, "Looks like we're pretty much stranded here." Adachi thought as he sighed, before putting away his phone and broughy out his gun. Checking his clip, to see how many bullets he had. There was enough ammo, but he didn't know what was out there. Worst case scenario, is that he runs out before they find the exit. If need be he could always bring out his blade, he put the clip back into the pistol and took it in hand. "Alright, we're gonna be fine. Just need to find a way out. Follow me, and we'll be out of here soon. Ok?" Adachi asked, as Yui nodded. "We'll be fine, trust me." Steeling himself, before taking charge of the situation. Trying to remain as calm as possible, Adachi reassured her, before making their way throughout the world inside the TV.

Not long after, havimg landed from his fall. The man in the purple coat, got up and took in his surroundings. "Is this, a shadow nest?" The man thought, curiously. Any thoughts he had at the moment he'd pushed to the back of his mind, before going after his student and his friend.

Not knowing how long time had passed since they first arrived, as they continued walking. The tension surrounding them was as thick as the fog itself, The eerie silence blanketing them didn'thelp either, for as far as the two were aware they were the only ones there. Adachi knew that probably wasn't the case, as those things were most likely lurking about. Not only that, but they were also experiencing headaches to add on top of that. That, and having to resist the temptation of leaving the other behind; which absolutely horrified them that they would even toy with such an idea. Shaking it from their minds, they moved forward. Until they finally reached a door.

Thinking it was a way out, they'd opened the door. Their hopes were dashed the moment they entered. instead, they came across a room that looked like a fire had gone off. It was then that a chill had ran down their spines. Noticing that the room itself, was actually a prison cell. Chains hung on the wall, along with various torture devices throughout the room. This unnerved the both of them, however Adachi's training came into full effect. Looking for something that could help them, Adachi had begun his search throughout the ash covered cell. Yui, wanting to be useful to the young detective. Had went about doing the same thing. During their search, they came across a couple of things. Adachi had found a burnt photo, while Yui found a black feather stained in blood. Yui took a closer look at it, wondering why it was doing there. However, before she could think more on that; another sharp pain rang through her head. Shrugging it off, she went back to her thoughts. Until she heard the cry of a crow.

Although he couldn't make it out, it felt familar to Adachi somehow. However, before Adachi could think more on this another surge of pain washed over him. "Crap, why now?" Adachi thought, trying to hold in the pain. Shaking it off, he returned to trying to place where he'd seen that person before. But was stopped in his tracks, after hearing the cry of a crow. They looked around, trying to find where the source of the sound had came from. This place was already creepy enough, they didn't need strange noises freaking them out. They Suddenly, a huge flock of crows burst through the room. Yui shrieked at this, as Adachi took her hand and bolted straight out of cell. They kept running until they knew the both of them were safe.

Shortly after, the man appeared before the door to the cell. Finally catching up to the others, however the two of them ran straight pass him. Not even noticing that he was even there, he wondered what had frightened them. Just then, a flock of crows came bursting out from the cell Summoning a blade, in the shape of a key. It was covered in purple and gold colors, with a ladybug keychain attached to the hilt. He took the blade in hand, fighting them off allowing the two to get away safely. Once all the crows were defeated, he went up to the cell and locked the door before him. Making it to where no more creatures couldn't keep pursuing his student and his new friend. "There, that should do it." He thought, satisfied with his handiwork. He made his way to return to the others.

Finally thinking they had lost those pests, The two of them had stopped to catch their breath. "I think we're safe now." Adachi said, breathing heavily. "Yeah." Yui repied, then all of a sudden a mysterious man, who didn't look much older than Adachi, though Adachi knew he was much older than he looked. Had appeared before them, "Are you two alright?" The man asked, concerned for them. "Yeah, we're fine. Just shaken up, is all." Adachi replied, Yui had so many questions swimming throughout her mind. "Who are you?" Yui asked, "Oh, right. Yui, this is my sensei Haruno Shirobana." Adachi said, as he introduced the man known as Haruno Shirobana to her. "It's nice to finally meet you, Narukami-chan. I've heard a lot about you from my granddaughter." Haruno said, greeting the silver haired girl. "Wait, you're Rin's grandfather?" Yui asked, surprised by that. "Yes, I am. Anyway, we should probably get moving. More shadows will show up soon if we don't hurry." Haruno explained, "More of them?" Yui asked, nervous at the possibility of running into those creatures again. "Yes, we are in the middle of a shadow's nest after all." Yui was confused by all this, "Huh, I had feeling that was the case. So this is what a shadow's nest is like. Which explains why the radio and our phones weren't working." Adachi, thought, he heard about shadow's nest before from Rin; but this was the first time he'd saw one with his own eyes. Seeing Yui's confusion, he then reassured the teen. "Don't worry Yui, I didn't get it at first either. We'll explain once we get outta here." Adachi said, as she nodded. Though, Yui would definitely hold them to that. It was then they heard a squaking sound, as they look towards the source they came upon a strange bear like creature.

"What is that?" Yui asked, "Who the hell are you? Speak up darn it!" Adachi demanded, holding his gun aimed straight at the thing that appeared before them. "Me? I'm just a friendly little bear." It said," Adachi was astonished by this. "What the frick are you?!" Adachi asked, taking a step back. "I. I already told you! I'm just a friendly little bear! Honest!" The bear said defensively, as it whimpered. "I knew I smelled someone new in here, so I was looking for them before it was too late." It explained, still a bit shaken. Haruno was puzzled by the creature's words, "Before it was too late? What did it mean by that?" Haruno thought, while Yui knelt down and patted its head. "There, there. Everything's ok now." Yui said, trying to comfort the bear; while at the same time calming herself down in the process. "How the hell is everything ok?" Adachi thought, his eye twitched in irritation. "You're so nice, unlike your friend here." It said, before taking out some goo and formed it into three pairs of frames. One yellow, one black, and one purple.

It gave the others their respective pair of glasses. Looking between themselves, before putting them on. Finally happy to see at last, though they didn't know if that actually was a good thing or not. Seeing before them, instead of a TV set, a twisted and broken city. Cascaded in a sickly yellow. with a sky mixed with reds and blacks. above them. "Ta dah! You guys will feel much better now. The bad vibes won't hurt you, and you'll be able to see through the fog." It explained proudly, "Humans don't belong here, its bad for them." It stated, though Haruno took a bit offense to this. Granted yes, he had human blood within him but he wasn't fully human. "Anyways, I'm getting you guys out of here. As soon as I figure out where we are." Adachi glared at the bear, having just about enough of this crap. He dealt with his own weird stuff in the past, but this was all too much to take in at once. "Well, you found us somehow. So, find us a way out of this place already!" Adachi demanded, seeing how agitated his student was getting at the bear. Haruno put a hand on Adachi's shoulder, trying to calm him down. Knowing that yelling at the poor creature wouldn't solve anything, Adachi had let out a sigh. "Anyway, just who the hell are you? Where'd you come from?" Adachi asked, "I'm Teddie." Teddie said, as he introduced himself to them. The three of them looked at Teddie with a deadpan expression. "Of course. it is." They thought, "This place doesn't have a name, but I live here." Teddie said. "Wait, you live here?" Yui asked, wondering how a place like this could be its home. "Yep, I've lived here for as long as I can remember." Teddie explained. "Anyways, we need to go now. Before the shadows come back." Teedie said nervously, "Shadows? what are?"

(Insert: Awakening)

Yui was cut off, as a horde of creatures emerged from blob like substances. "Ah! They're here!" Teddie cried out, before running to find cover. Yui had tried to do the same, terrified at the sight before her she couldn't bring herself to move. Her body was completely frozen stiff. Meanwhile, Adachi and Haruno readied themselves for battle. However, before they began to hold them back and buy them some time to escape. A great surge of pain hit Adachi like a ton of bricks, and he wasn't the only one as Yui was experiencing the same thing as well. Both were already having bad headaches as is, but it finally got to the point where they couldn't handle it anymore. It felt as if that any moment their skulls would split open, writhing in pain. They cried out, falling to their knees. Clutching their heads, "Hey! What's wrong?!" Haruno yelled out, then realized what was about to happen. Understanding this, he turned around to fend off the horde. During this, a voice called out to the both of them. Its words were different, but the result were the same. When it spoke, it had sounded familar to them. "I am thou, thou art I. The time has come, to eradicate the filth from this world!" it said, "Heh, that so? Huh, fine by me."Adachi said, accepting its words. With a devilish smile on his face, then a card appeared in his hand; flipping it over. A single word formed in his mind "Per. . so.. na." He called out, before a burst of blue flames surrounded him, with a strange cloaked being in black with menacing red eyes formed in front of his eyes. Knowing full well who and what this was. "So this is what Rin meant. Heh, to think it be you. I had it with me all this time, who'd have thought." Adachi thought, seeing this was his companion Magatsu-Izanagi, who'd have materialized from its blade form and transformed into a semi-transcient form. With him by Adachi's side, along with his gun in hand. He proceeded to wail on the pests before him. Meanwhile, Yui was going through her own awakening at the moment. The voice called out to her."I am thou, thou art I. Open thine eyes, and call forth what is within!" It said, accepting its words a card appeared in Yui's hand. Flipping it over, before the same word came to Yui's mind as well. Calling out to it, blue flames surrounded her as well. A strange, yellow hooded being. Who looked a lot like Adachi's, though hers had a different feel to it. It wasn't as menacing as the young detective's. The name came forth to her, knowing that this was the same presence she felt before in that dream. This was Izanagi, with her by her side. She was no longer afraid, as she went to go help Adachi and his sensei fight.

(Insert: Wave of Darkness from Kingdom Hearts 0,2 A Fragmentary Passage)

Commanding their Personas, and Haruno utilizing his Stand. Like a composer conducting an symphony orchestra. It was a mixture of sword slashes, punches, gunshots, and magic that came together like instruments in perfect harmony. Unleashing their full fury upon the shadows.. This went on for quite a while, after finally taking down the last of them. They put their weapons away, and their Personas and Stand had disappeared. Satisfied at their shared victory, however it didn't last long. As the two new awakened Persona users collasped to the ground from exhaustion. "Don't worry this happens everytime." Haruno explained, as he helped the both of them up. "Really? So this is normal then?" Yui asked, "Yeah, when you awaken your Persona it takes a lot out of you. Once you get some rest you'll be just fine." Haruno explained, it was then that Teddie came out of hiding. "Wow! I had no idea you guys were so strong senseis!" Teddie beamed at them, Adachi took this in stride as the bear showed him respect. Though Yui was a bit embarrassed by his praise, not used to such words. Haruno, was glad to see that Teddie was alright.

Slowly making their way back to the platform, where they first entered as their bodies ached as they moved. Adachi first noticed this, and wasn't too pleased by this. "We're back where we first started, this isn't the exit at all! You stupid bear!" Adachi yelled at Teddie, annoyed by this. "Hang on just a second. Adachi-sensei." Teddie said, as the three of them stared at him. He tapped his foot on the stage, summoning a stack of vintage TVs before them. Taken aback by this, they were shocked by the sight before them. After all the two have gone through today, and all that Haruno has seen throughout his life; this was somehow the least weirdest thing they've all seen. "Ta dah, there you go senseis. Now you guys can leave, and not a moment too soon. It would have been really bad if guys had stayed here any longer." Teddie said, relieved by this. "Oh yeah, you mentioned something like that earlier. The hell'd you mean by that?" Adachi asked, "A lot of people have been thrown in here for a while now, this has been causing the shadows to become restless. But it's not as bad as whenever the fog lifts, when that happens the shadows go berserk. If you're stuck in here when that happens then..." Teddie explained, as he trailed off. They had an idea as to what Teddie meant by that, the color drained from their faces. "Wait, someone's been putting people inside this place?" Yui asked, her voiced trembled with fear. "Then..." Yui quietly said, as she trailed off. The thought of someone doing something so awful. frightened her. Adachi tried to calm her, and put Yui's mind at ease. Though in the back of his mind, he had a pretty good idea as to who was behind it. If what they saw earlier was any indication. "Hey, Teddie. How long has that been going on?" Adachi asked, "For about as long as I can remember, why?" Teddie asked, "That's not enough to go on." Adachi thought, "If all this was happening while Rin and her siblings were dealing with that Dark Hour crap, then that pretty much brings us back to square one. Need to find out for sure." Adachi thougbt, as the others looked at him with a worried expression on their faces. Adachi came out of his thought long enough, filling away his suspicions for later. "Don't worry about it, I was just curious. is all." Haruno, however knew exactly what he was thinking; for he was thinking the same thing.

Yui knew better to just drop the issue for now. Deciding to change the subject, she took the opportunity to bring up the question she tried to ask earlier. "So what exactly are shadows? Teddie, do you know?" Yui asked, seeing if the bear had any insight on the matter. "Shadows are shadows." Yui wasn't satisfied with the vague answer Teedie had given her, as she turned to Shirobana-san asking him the same question. "Shadows, are the repressed negative emotions we keep hidden inside. Things that we don't want others to see." Haruno explained, "The Personas you wield used to be such things." Haruno continued, they were surprised by the fact that their Personas were once one of those things. "What about what you used earlier? Was that also a Persona?" Yui asked, "Sort of, you see what I used is a devolved form of what Personas used to be known as a Stand." Haruno explained, Yui titled her head in confusion. Trying to comprehend it.

"Hey, you guys should probably leave soon. I'm not sure how much longer until the fog lifts. So I'd get out of here if I were you." Teddie stated, "Right, if those things suddenly showed up again. We wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight." Adachi said, as they made their way up to the stack of TVs. Before Teddie had pushed them on through, sending them back to the real world. However, as this occurred. A lone figure, cloaked in dark red clothing. Hiding her face, and the various scars amongst her body. Stood there watching them, though it couldn't be seen. A smile came onto her face. "Heh, they came a lot sooner than I expected. The first step has finally taken place, now onto the next." She thpught, her smile grew into a expression of that of a crazed lunatic.

End of chapter:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! IT'S FINALLY DONE! I thought I'd never get to this part. I was so happy to finally write this chapter, and write both the chase scene and their awakening. I even got to put in some wholesome moments as well. Despite it being a bit longer, than usual.
> 
> Plus, I finally got reveal who Adachi's sensei is. I'm sure those who are familiar with Jojo will recognize the name. I'm sure you all can figure it out from here, if his character description was any indication. Also, I introduced who one of the main antagonists of the fic in this chapter as well. I can't wait to reveal her identity to you all. I will make sure she gets proper build up before then.
> 
> I'm sorry it took so long, I would have had it either yesterday or Friday, but I lost some of my progress. I'm having to use the app to write my story. My brother's been having to use my laptop as of late, so that's why.
> 
> Now, that I'm finished with the introduction arc. The next few chapters will be an interlude period, before I start the next major arc. As we now begin the formation of their bonds. There may be a bit of a timeskip at times, just to move the plot along. Though I won't rush it.
> 
> By the way, when I was going back and doing some editing. I was doing some research and found out that Atlus got something wrong. In the game they have it to where you take Dec. 23rd off, due to it being the Emperor's birthday. But, actually it takes place on Feb 23rd. not in , in case you're wondering why the classroom scene was there that's why.
> 
> Also, the reason why the fool SL wasn't formed this time around. Is because that won't happen until the first major death.
> 
> Until next time, farewell
> 
> Next chapter: Return to The Velvet Room


	5. Chapter 5: Return to The Velvet Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having returned from TV world, and awakened to their Personas. Our two heroes are summoned once again to the realm between dream and reality, mind and matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, despite with all that's happened. Here's to hoping 2021 is a lot better.
> 
> Plus it will get more into the wholesome bits again. Which is something I love about the Persona series.
> 
> Also, the first arc's been uploaded, and its been all polished up. Ready to be read by those who haven't read it. There will probably be more edits in the future. I still need to edit the chapters over here to match the same quality. I want to make sure I get it to the best it can be. Thank you SlytherinLikesPudding for the kudos, and although it's stated as guest I'm pretty certain that's you Resident Arrist. Regardless, I thank you all on both AO3 and here for all the support you guys have given me.
> 
> Now let us continue
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's.

12/23/2011

Weather: Partly Cloudy

(Adachi's POV)

(Insert: Junes Theme Instrumental version)

Seeing that they had safely returned to where they had first fell into the TV from. The two found themselves back at Junes, withiin the electronics section in front of the TVs on display. "We're back!" He exclaimed, "Yeah, looks like it." Yui replied, relieved to have made it back safe and sound. It was then that the overhead announced the store's evening deals. "Its that late, already?" He wondered, surprised by how long they were gone for. He knew, as usual he wouldn't be able to explain what happened after they fell in, or how they fell in exactly after the thief was almost cornered and then ran off again. Though Adachi did wonder what happened to him, during that time. Maybe someone else caught him by now, worst case being that he got away. He'd have to worry about that later, right now he was just way too tired. Besides, there were much bigger things to worry about at the moment. Though, first things first was to get ahold of Dojima-san. He knew he'd get an earful when he did, but that couldn't be avoided. He'd rather just get it over with so he can head to his apartment, and get some much needed rest. Though, he knew that wouldn't be happening for a while. He knew he would probably need to fill out a report about this, along with a witness statement from Narukami-chan.

As he pulled out his phone, and flipped it open to call his partner. Having seen that Dojima-san had tried to get ahold of him, He sighed, before dialing the number. He definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Dojima-san's excessive barkimg. After the phone rang, and what sounded like someone picking up on the other line. Though, all he heard after that was the older detective who was yelling at him in that gruff voice of his. "Adachi! Where the hell are you?!" Dojima demanded, as he moved the phone away from his ear. Wincing in pain, he wasn't the only one either, Yui also winced after hearing her uncle's loud voice over the phone. His voice was just that loud, it blared out like a speaker on full blast. "I was pursuing the suspect, but my phone was off so I couldn't contact you." Adachi laughed sheepishly, hoping that his partner would buy that. After telling Dojima-san the half-truth, he heard a growl from the older detective; knowing that he was in for another smack on the head for screwing up again and acting like a rookie. But at least for now he bought it, and was fine with it, better than him thinking he was crazy. He continued to fill Dojima-san in on what happened, and told him that the thief gave him the slip. Though, these things weren't particularly not true. His phone was technically off while in that place, and he was pursuing that asshole; which who did give him the slip. Not before throwing Narukami-chan's bag at them to shake 'em off. He could've sworn for a moment Dojima-san was shocked at that, but was too tired to tell and just brushed it off. "I see," Dojima sighed, "Have her come down to station, alright?" Dojima asked, he nodded before hanging up and putting away his phone. He groaned, as he rubbed his face before turning to face the silver haired girl. Who had frowned at this, not liking having to hide things from her uncle; but understood why. They both knew if either one told anyone what really happened they'd think they were insane. "You probably heard all that right?" He asked, as Yui nodded. How couldn't she. "Good, then that makes things a lot easier. I know you're tired as hell, but hopefully it won't take too long so you can head on home. Also, I probably don't need to tell you this; but don't tell Dojima-san anything about that other place and what happened there. Ok?" He explained, as Yui nodded. Before the two dragged tbemselves down to the station.

(Yui's POV)

Having finally made it down, they met up with Dojima. Before heading into one of the interrogation rooms. Though, not before getting a lecture from him; and Adachi receiving a smack on the head as he glared at Adachi, Before his demeanor returned to normal. Even through his gruff exterior, she could tell that her uncle was worried about her. Something that surprised Adachi-san, though she guessed that was to be expected; he's probably never seen that side of her uncle before. She surmised, while Adachi-san was rubbing his head.

As they went in, the line of questioning went on for quite a while. She didn't notice much, for she was more focused on retriving her bag at the time. The only thing that really stood out about the thief, was that he was male and around her uncle's age. Maybe a bit older? She wasn't entirely sure, plus she really wasn't in the best state of mind right now. So she couldn't really help them with identifying the suspect. Seeing as that was the case, they were finally finished, she was now able to go home and get some sleep. Dojima took her on back to the house, though not before picking up dinner on the way. Which was a shame, since she didn't get the chance to apologize to Adachi-san for getting in his way and thanking him for helping her twice in a row today. Along with Shirobana-san as well, she knew if they weren't there and had she not awakened to that power she would've died. So she understood where her uncle was coming from.

Making sure they got in ok, before putting their stuff away, and entered the house. Dojima called out saying they were home, Nanako came to greet them. Excited to see her Dad home, despite how late he was. She wondered if he bothered to let her cousin know he'd be late again. Though she was tired, she tried to put on a brave face in front of Nanako. Not wanting to worry her, as they sat down at the table next to the TV. In that moment, she understood how her Mom felt. Eating the side dishes Dojima bought, she had scared down her meal. Having such a voracious appetite, yes although she was an athlete and ate a bunch to keep her stamina up. Overall, she felt she had a pretty healthy appetite for a girl her age; but for some strange reason she was really hungry tonight. It was probably something that was also normal for those who'd awaken to that power. She still hadn't fully wrapped her head around it all. It was all so sudden, Dojima was a bit surprised at the sight before him, as his niece devoured the meal in front of him. He figured it was normal for someone their age, she was still growing after all. Dojima had brushed it off for now. as he went to eat his meal.

When they finished their meal, they had put their dishes in the sink and attended to them before going throughout the evening; doing whatever until it was time for bed. She was about to go take a bath, before heading to bed early. Still tired from today's events, however Dojima called her over. She really wasn't in the mood for another lecture from him, she had inwardly sighed before seeing what her uncle wanted. "Hey.. Um, I'm glad that you're ok. And that you got your bag back." Dojima said, awkwardly. Those words brought about smile, albeit a tired one to her face. For she could tell that although her uncle had a hard time finding the words, despite that they were genuine. Looking at her with a softer gaze than the one from earlier this evening.. Seeing that he cared for those around him, but had a hard time showing how he really feels. That's probably the case with Adachi-san as well, though after seeing both of their perspectives on the matter. He was hard on Adachi-san, but that's just maybe because he saw the potential that the young detective had; and wanted him to do better. He just doesn't have a good way of getting that across, and because of that that caused Adachi-san to most likely bear some bitterness towards how his partner and his seniors treated him. Which was a shame, if only they had seen what she saw in the young detective earlier this afternoon. They would definitely think twice on how they treated him, but she was fine with secretly knowing that. Hoping that they'd see in her friend what she saw, and maybe Dojima saw that in him as well.

She thanked him, grateful to her uncle as he gave her those kind words. Though, of course the moment didn't last long as her uncle's stern expression returned. "What were you doing there at Junes anyways?" Dojima asked, as she inwardly groaned. That detective brain of his was just like Mom's, whenenever she came home she had a hard time turning it off. "Guess that was one thing thing they had in common." She thought, before answering him. "I was just doing some Christmas shopping, that's all." She responded, With the answer being satisfactory to her uncle, "Alright then, just be more careful when your out. Ok?" Dojima asked, before she nodded. Seeing that was all, they bid each other good night as she turned in early for the night. Not knowing that once again her slumber would be an eventful one.

12/23/2011

Weather: Partly Cloudy

(Adachi's POV)

The rest of the evening was unbearable, after they finished questioning Narukami-chan. Dojima-san went home, and left him to take care of filing both the witness statement and their report to the chief. Which was hard for him to focus on, as his mind wasn't with him right now. Still spent from this afternoon, he didn't really care all that nuch if he half-assed it; but still did a decent job with it. Not wanting to get himself into more trouble than he already was. He had screwed up, by letting that purse snatcher get away. Even though, it wasn't his fault, again. The blame still fell on him, since he was the one pursing that asshole. He sighed, "Well, at least tomorrow will be a lot less crapier." He thought, perking up. For tomorrow was one of the few days of the year he looked foward to, Christmas Eve. Hopefully, he'll get off early enough to go and get the stuff he needed. Because of what happened, he didn't get the chance to finish all he needed to for tomorrow. He was in no shape to head back up to Junes right now, so it would have to wait until sometime tomorrow. Narukami-chan, will probably be doing the same thing as well. He hoped that his jerk of a partner will at least spend time with that niece of his, along with his daughter. If it weren't Christmas Eve he'd bring her along with him to see Rin, but that day was reserved for them alone. But if she doesn't have any plans the day after, he'd have no problem bringing Narukami-chan with him. They'd usually took Christmas Day and got together with Yuri, and Rin's siblings. They'd spend the day hanging out with each other, especially after all that's happened. That was something they still did even now, despite Rin being in a freaking cocoon. Though, that did however keep Kai away.

Finally finishing up the paperwork, he gathered his things and made his way towards his apartment. It was much later in the evening by the time he got back to his apartment. He fixed himself some ramen and got out a thing of beer. With no strength to cook anything, and everything pretty much closed by now. He plopped down on the couch in front of his TV. Eating his cup of ramen, and drinking the can of booze. He really needed it after the day he had. Having finished his meal, he tossed his trash into the can though it missed its mark and fell right next to the can. He didn't care about it, he just wanted to shut his brain off for the night. He just laid there on the couch, having zero energy whatsoever he crashed right then and there. The exhaustion finally catching up with him, unaware of what would occur during his slumber.

(Insert: Aria of the Soul)

Deep within their slumber those chosen by fate, were summoned once more to The Velvet Room. Hearing the beautiful sound of the piano with the accompaniment of the opera singer. Of course, that wasn't the only things they heard. When the two were aroused from their slumber. "Welcome. " Igor said, greeting the both of them. Looking around, seeing that they were back inside tbe velvet hued limousine. "This is..." They murmured, seeing that it still looked the same as it did when they first came, but there was a difference here this time around. The veil separating the two, preventing them from seeing the other. They could now see the other, clear as day. Adachi face palmed after seeing where he was. He normally would have no problem with dealing with the strange and unknown, but there was a limit to how much he could take in one day. He honestly wanted to reach for one of the many bottles of liquor, lined along the bar. But something told him that if he tried, he'd only be stopped by that old man's assistant. That was something he really needed right now, and he couldn't even imagine how Narukami-chan was feeling right now. This was her first time experiencing something like this, although he was used to it having experienced it himself multiple times. However, not everyone reacts well to the unknown. Kai was a good example of that. Everytime whenever he dealt with any kind of weird crap, no matter how small, he'd freak out. Though, that was due to tbe absolute hell those scumbags put him through when he was younger. Though, that's not what she was thinking at all. Yui was curious as to why they were here again. Her eyes filled with mysticism and wonder, while taking in the enchanting beauty of the room dyed in velvet. One thought did sprout up in her mind. How am I able to see Adachi-san now and how was he able to see me? Also why couldn't we see each other when we came here the first time? Was it because they hadn't met yet? That was the only thing that made sense to her." Yui thought, "Why the hell are we back here again?!" Adachi thought, he was beyond pissed right now. "Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep. In the real world. I have summoned you two within your dreams." Igor said reassuringly to the both of them, trying to put their minds at ease. Though it didn't do much to ease the situation, "And so we meet again." Igor explained, "Hey, old man! Why the hell are we here?!" Adachi demanded, not at all in the mood to deal with the caretakers cryptic words. Yui, startled by his reaction. though understood Adachi-san's frustration. She too wished to know the reason why the long nosed man in front of them brought them here. "Do not worry, all will be explained." Igor said, cryptically. Adachi's eye twitched, wanting to beat the crap out of the long nosed geezer. Seeing this, Yui put a hand on Adachi-san's shoulder. Trying to calm the young detective down, before he did something he'd regret. "This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter. In your daily lives, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you both chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice. Thereby, enacting your glorious awakening to your power." Margaret explained, praising the two new persona users.

Yui, was perplexed as far as she was aware of she didn't enter any kind contract. Adachi on the other hand, knew exactly what the attendant was talking about. It was pretty much the same thing that Rin told him, though the contract bit was new though. "So this is how they're chosen, then Rin must of formed some kind of contract as well when she through this crap." Adachi realized, "Now that I know how the process works, the quesion is, what happens to those who don't want to form a contract? Adachi wondered, "Hey. what happens to those who don't want to form a contract?" Adachi asked, curious to know the answer to the question he had on his mind. "They would just go about living their normal lives. So far we haven had anything like that happen yet." Margaret said, as she answered Adachi's question.

Finally finished explaining to the both of them, Igor had given them something. "Hold onto this." Igor said, they reached out to take what looked to be some sort of key drenched in velvet. Curious of the small object, before they had the chance to ask. Igor continued on, "From this night forth, you two are our honored guests here in The Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you both to hone your new power, and for that, you two will require our help."

The old caretaker explained, so far that was the easiest part they've understood from all the nonsensical drival that came from the long nosed elder's mouth. All they had to do was to just get stronger, and they were even offering to give us a hand to help them achieve that strength. But nothing in this life comes for free, so of course there was a catch. There always was one, at least that's what Adachi's come to accept anyways. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. "There is, but one price for our assistance." And there it was, figures. "You two must abide by the contract you forged, and assume all responsibilities for all decisions you two make." Igor said, after stating his terms. Overall they were pretty reasonable, all they had to do was own up to their action for whatever they did from here on out. It seemed simple enough, but still didn't understand as to how they came to forge said contract. They thought about asking him, but would probably end up getting some roundabout answer. So they just let that roll off their backs, and let the old caretaker know that they understood more or less of it anyways. "That is fine, for now." Igor said, satisfied with their answer for now.

"Now the Persona you two have acquired, is a side of you, that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you could see it as a facade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life." Igor said, babbling on. Both of them knew first hand of what that was like, putting on a mask in order to keep moving forward. "Your Persona abilities is that of the Wild Card, compared to that of others it is very special. It is like the number zero. empty, yet holds infinite potential within." Igor explained.

Adachi smiled at this, at its core this decribed him in a nutshell, some nobody who after all his hard work didn't really amount to much. Then all of a sudden, he got wrapped up into something greater. Life was funny like that at times, he laughed at it all and accepted it head on. No matter what happened next, it absolutely thrilled him to the point where you'd think he'd gone mad. Yui, however, was hesitant after hearing Igor's words. Unsure, as to what make of it. It was still a lot to take in. Here was someone telling her that she had some sort of special destiny, and all she had to do was be accountable of her actions and abide by some contract she had no idea she'd formed in the first place. It was a bit overwhelming to say the least, she was only a teenager for goodness sake. That's a lot of pressure to put on a person.

Seeing as the two before him were lost in thought, Igor proceeded. Realizing this, it had pulled them out of it and returned their attention to the conversation at hand. "It also gives the user tbe ablity to control one's own heart, strengthened through bonds. As you two form bonds, by becoming involved with others. Your own Social Links will begin to gradually develop."

That would be easier said than done, neither didn't have much experience forming bonds with others. There were only a few people in their life, they've formed something like that with others. For Yui, only Rin came to mind. Granted there might be some people she've met already that she could consider obtaining a bond with, but it was too soon to say. As for Adachi the people who came to mind were his childhood friends, Rin, her grandpa, Doc, Narukami-san, and finally Nagato. So at the very least it wasn't impossible for them to attain, it would jusy take some time. Though, what the hell did he mean by controling one own's heart? The question loomed on their minds, they asked but was yet again given another vague answer. "Social links are necessary, for more than strengthening your Personas. At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are seaching for." Margaret said, "Where will the awakened power of the Wild Card lead you?" Igor wondered, "I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together." Igor said, intrigued to what lies ahead on their journey. "Till we meet again." Igor said, biding the two Wild Cards farewell for the time being. He waved his hand, and once more sleep overtook them. Leaving The Velvet Room behind, the two awoke and returned to where they had fallen asleep the night before.

12/24/2011

Weather: Partly Sunny

(Yui's POV)

"Another strange dream. it wasn't like the last one I had the night before when I first got to Inaba. It was more like the one I had before I arrived." She thought, after waking up. For a moment she thought she felt something. She moved her hand to grab said object. Pulling it out from under the covers, it appeared to be the key that was given to her. "So then, it wasn't a dream.." She thought, the realization dawned on her. "Then, everything that happened yesterday was real." She thought, her mouth agape for she was astonished at that. She stirred in her thoughts, having finally gotten a chance to let everything sink in. Of course, she couldn't afford to stay in her thoughts for long; otherwise she'd be late for school. With her body having returned to full strength, she was able to get up and get herself ready for the last day of school before winter break. Before she headed down to join Nanako for breakfast, when she finished she grabbed her bag; though not before putting the key in her pocket. She checked to see if the card she got was still in there, and lo and behold it was. She took it out and held it up in front of her. On the front side, it showed her persona Izanagi. Flipping it over to the other side it showed a man carrying a sack with a dog following him, and the number twenty-two at the bottom. She was amazed by this, before putting it back in her pocket.

She came on down, saying good morning to Nanako and joined her at the table. Noticing that Dojima was nowhere to be seen, "He must have left already." She thought, as she ate the eggs and toast, before leaving for school.

The day went on as normal as it could be, which was a good thing she guessed. Our test results were posted today, and as usual she scored the highest in her class. The cat was finally out of the bag, and the whole school knew how smart she was. But, at least she wasn't the only one. Seeing that Kageyama-senpai also got the top score as well. This cheered her up a bit, knowing that she wasn't alone. "Wow! that's amazing Yui! I had no idea you were some kind of genius." Chie exclaimed, "Yes, congratulations." Yukiko said, they were happy for their new friend. She was embarrassed by the praise they gave her. "Thanks, How did you guys do?" She asked, "Eh, I did ok. At least, I didn't fail. But my scores are nothing compared to yours and Yukiko's though." Chie said, She was curious by this, "What was your score Yukiko?" She asked, "I did pretty well, I made it into the top ten." Yukiko said, she was amazed by that; for she wasn't expecting that. "That's wonderful, Yukiko." She said, happy that regardless of their placement they basically had all passed.

Taking notes on the subject at hand, though her hand was just moving on its own. Not really all that focused, for she couldn't stop thinking about that place; and the words that Igor said to them. It still lingered within her, not sure what to make of it. She wondered how Adachi-san was feeling, if he was doing alright. He was probably handling it a lot better than she was, especially how he handled himself while inside that other world. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, she also needed to apologize and thank him the next time she saw him. The final bell rang she put her things away, getting ready to leave. Before that, Chie came up to her she was by herself today. Yukiko must had already went on home. "Hey, Yui. What happened yesterday? You just straight up bolted out of here, you had me worried." Chie, asked concerned for her. She felt a twinge of guilt, for worrying Chie. "I'm sorry, Chie. I just had somewhere I really had to be." She said, as she apologized. "It's fine, so where did ya go?" Chie asked, she explained what happened; while leaving out the part about her and Adachi-san going inside the TV. "Whoa, that's crazy!" Chie exclaimed, she nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're ok. But man, what a jerk?! Can't believe that guy did that and got away, I hope the police catch that thief." Chie ranted, as she laughed at Chie's antics. "Yeah, I hope so too." She replied, "Well, anyways I just wanted to check up on ya. That's all." Chie stated, as she smiled at her. "Thanks, I appreciate that." She said, before saying goodbye.

Deciding to head to Junes, she left the school area making her way down to the department store; and obtain the items she needed for tonight's dinner. Along with gifts for Dojima, Nanako, and Rin; while keeping her bag close so that no one makes off with it this time. By the time she arrived, it was still just as crowded. Trying to make it throughout the crowds of people, and going throughout the aisles with her cart. During this however, she ended up being bumped into someone. She looked up, seeing it was Adachi-san. "Oh, sorry about that Narukami-chan. I didn't see ya there, you ok?" Adachi asked, "Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, There was an awkward silence between the two of them, unsure of what to say to each other after the bizzare situation that occured yesterday. Until, finally she had made the first move. "So, Um.. I'm guessing you're also doing so last minute shopping too?" She asked, awkwardly. "Yeah, after everything that happened I didn't get the chance to. Which brings us here." Adachi stated, a bit embarrassed she shifted under his gaze. "Er, right. How are you feeling?" She asked, "Doing ok, how about you?" Adachi asked, "I'm fine, I guess." She replied, unsure of how to respond to the young detective. She still felt a bit uneasy, but still kept her composure. "Its still a lot to take in." She said, while looking away from him. "Yeah, I get it. It's not that easy to accept right away. It definitely took a while for me to wrap my head around it at first." Adachi said, giving her a look of understanding. "Is that so? So, you've experienced things like that before?" She asked, "Sort of, its a long story. But, I don't really have time to explain right now. But to sum it all up, it was due to having met Rin and her grandpa." Adachi vaguely explained, she tilted her head in confusion. "I'm guessing Rin hasn't told you yet." Adachi said, after letting out a sigh. "Tell me what?" She asked, "I don't think I should be the one telling you that, it probably be best to just ask Rin herself." Adachi replied, she was disappointed by his answer. Suddenly, Adachi patted her head as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't look so down, Narukami-chan. You know, Yuri and I happen to be going to go and see her tomorrow. You can come with us, and ask her yourself." Adachi said, his cheerful expression returning. She perked up at that, "Are you sure, you don't mind?" She asked, not sure to whether or not the young detective was serious. "It's fine, as long you don't have anything else going on." Adachi said, she thought for a moment. The only thing that she had going on was her birthday, and she didn't know whether or not her uncle even remembered what day her birthday was. Chie and Yukiko didn't know her that well. So odds are that she wouldn't be doing anything special tomorrow, so being able to celebrate her birthday with Rin delighted her. "No, I don't think I do." She finally answered Adachi. "Ok, great! Well we'll see you tomorrow then." Adachi said, he waved her goodbye before he rushed off. She stood there, flabbergasted at him running off before she gave him a proper response. "I didn't realize he was in such a hurry. I hope I didn't cause him to be late, well then I guess its ok then." She thought, letting out a exasperated sigh. Then a sudden realization hit her, she was so caught up in the conversation she didn't get to thank him. Well she would be seeing him tomorrow, as she returned to her own shopping.

Finally hsving finished, she made her way to the checkout counter, she paid for the groceries and the gifts. She took her bags and headed back to the house. By the time she got back, it was about late into the afternoon early into the evening. Putting the bags down for a moment so she could unlock the door and open it. Grabbing the bags before going inside, she went in and used her foot to shut the door behind her. With her hands full, she had to kick her shoes off before heading straight to the kitchen area. She put the bags on the counter, before she hung up her coat, and her bag down. She rolled up her sleeves, and washed her hands before she got to work on dinner. She looked over to Nanako, seeing her watching one of her shows. Making sure her cousin wasn't looking, she went and hid the gifts she bought for them. Once she had finished, she headed back into the kitchen to return to the task at hand.

During this, Nanako was of course watching her cook, she didn't mind. It was something she enjoyed. After sometime the ham, side dishes, and the wagashi were ready. She and Nanako took the food and the plates over to the table, before sitting down themselves. Hearing the door opening, Dojima had returned home from work. "I'm home." Dojima called out, Nanako got up to greet him. "Hm, something smells good." Dojima said, he came into the living room. Seeing the spread before him, "Welcome home." She said, greeting him. "Uh, yeah." Dojima said, as he was shook out of his shocked stupor. Not really sure how to react at the unexpected surprise before him. A hidden smirk that had gone unnoticed by her uncle, satisfied with her efforts. His expression softened, as he sat down to eat with Nanako following suit. The rest of the evening was lively, they enjoyed their meal together. This was one of the many nights that she would always remember.

End of chapter:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I went back and added more to this chapter, I'm still learning when it's a good place for me to end my chapters. I did say that there would be more edits moving forward, and that will continue on until I'm finished with the story in its entirety. So just bear that in mind.
> 
> I honestly wasn't even planning on writing Yui's spending Christmas Eve with the Dojimas, but as I was writing the next chapter it just made more sense. Which I don't mind, as I wanted to her to have those wholesome moments anyway. The same goes with the scene with the test scores, but this was the only time I could add it.
> 
> By the way in case you were wondering, Wagashi are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of mochi, anko and fruits. Wagashi are typically made from plant-based ingredients.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: First Christmas in Inaba


	6. Chapter 6: First Christmas in Inaba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We follow Adachi as he spends his first Christmas Eve in Inaba.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we made it people we survived. 2020 is finally over, and 2021 has officially begun. I hope you had a good start to your New Year, and it was better than mine. I pray that you all stay safe.
> 
> Thank you BrookeWritesSometimes for the Kudos on AO3 and for all the hits and views. I hope that I was able to bring a little bit of happiness your New Year.
> 
> Now let us continue
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters andersona settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's.

12/24/2011

Weather: Partly Sunny

(Adachi's POV)

Groaning as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, having yet another weird ass dream. "Darn it! That's the third time this week, well hopefully that's the last of them for a while." Adachi thought, feeling something in his pocket he put his hand in and pulled out a key; along with the card that had his persona Magatsu-Izanagi on the front and the fool arcana along with the number zero on the back. The most stupid ass grin came onto his face, the fact that actually happened sinking into him. He couldn't believe it, after all that time his powers were finally unlocked. It made him excited as could be. Hell, he knew a while back he had the potential to but didn't know exactly when it would awaken. That was pretty much the whole point as to why he busted his ass off training all that time; for whenever they finally did. Didn't expect for it to take this long though, but was definitely worth the wait. Sure, there were things he still didn't know. Like how to even summon the darn thing, was it like how he summoned his blade or was there another way of doing it. There was also that place inside the TV, and how it even exists in the first place. It wasn't like with Tartarus or that Dark Hour crap, where he knew how that happened; due to morons messing around with things they didn't fully understand. If it weren't for that Rin wouldn't have had to go through all the utter crap she did. Though if it didn't they wouldn't have met, however he did think that at some point they probably would've sooner or later.

There was also that bear as well, just what exactly was he and not only that he wondered if what that bear said had anything to do with what that long nosed geezer said before to him and Narukami-chan. There were so many questions that were unanswered, oh well they'll figure it out sooner or later. After all, the fun was just getting started. He finished gathering up his things, before heading out. Though not before grabbing a bite to eat, wanting to get down to the station as soon as he could. He still had to head down to the bus stop, with his car not finished just yet. Luckily they said it would only be a few more days until they were done, so he'd put up with it until then. Making his way to Okina, and heading inside the station to begin the workday.

The day went by pretty quickly, most of it was focused on trying to find anything that would lead him to that purse snacher among other things. It was the least he can do, after screwing up yesterday. However, there wasn't much to go on. Purse snatchers and thefts were a dime a dozen, unless they had a distinct pattern or stood out in someway. It was hard to pin them down, not only that based on the profile Narukami-chan gave them didn't really help either. "Why would an old man even steal from someone in the first place?" He thought, it made zero sense to him. As the hours rolled on by, to when his was shift up. Seeing that there was still enough time for him to stop by Junes. He gathered up his things, and hurried over to the department store. Though not before making a call, to pass on a message to Rin to let her know that he'd be running late. Wanting to get there, before visiting hours were over.

With no car, he had to walk or in his case trying to run without tripping and falling on his ass. He proceeded to go in and obtain said items, if Rin wasn't in that other realm; he would've been royally screwed. Going throughout the different aisles, while trying to make it through the utter chaos of those who were in the midst of their last minute shopping. Having finally finished, he went to go and make his purchase, though not before running into Narukami-chan. He was so focused on what he was doing, he didn't even see her. It wasn't until he almost bumped straight into her he'd finally took notice of her. "Oh, sorry about that Narukami-chan. I didn't see ya there, you ok?" He asked, "Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, There was an awkward silence between the two of them, unsure of what to say to each other after the bizzare situation that occured. Until, finally Yui had made the first move. "So.. Um, I'm guessing you're also doing some Christmas shopping as well." Yui asked, awkwardly. "Sheesh, If that wasn't obvious enough." He thought, annoyed at that. "Yeah, after everything that happened I didn't get the chance to. Which brings us to here." He stated, "Er, right. How are you feeling?" Yui asked, despite her embarrassment. was trying her best to put up a front. "Doing ok, how about you?" He asked, "I'm fine, I guess." Yui replied, her voice was filled with uncertainty. "It's still a lot to take in." Yui said, fidgeting while she looked away from him. He gave her a look of understanding. "Yeah, I get it. It's not that's easy to accept right away. It definitely took me a while for me to wrap my head around it at first." He stated, for he knew exactly what she was going through. In fact, he was probably one of the only other people who could. "Is that so? So, you've experienced something like that before?" Yui asked, "Sort of, its a long story. I don't really have time to explain right now. But to sum it all up, it was due to having met Rin and her grandpa." Giving a vague explanation, Yui had tilted her head in confusion. He inwardly face palmed himself. "You gotta be kidding me! She hasn't told her?! Well. I guess it makes sense. Rin was always the cautious type. She probably didn't know anyone she could entrust that type of info with. Plus, she most likely wanted to tell Narukami herself." He thought, before letting out a sigh. "I'm guessing Rin hasn't told you yet." He said, "Tell me what?" Yui asked, "I don't think I should be the one telling you that, it probably be best to just ask Rin herself." He reluctantly replied, as that wasn't his secret to tell. Unfortunately, she didn't like that answer. As he saw the look of disappointment on her face, he let out a small chuckle. Before he patted the girl's head, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't look so down, Narukami-chan. You know, Yuri and I happen to be going to go and see her tomorrow. You can come with us, and ask her yourself." He said, putting back on that dopey smile of his. "Are you sure, you don't mind?" Yui asked, he could already tell that she wanted to take him up on that. But was seeing what his reaction would be first, "It's fine, as long you don't have anything else going on." He said, she took a moment to think on that. This irritated him a bit, though he didn't show it. "No, I don't think I do." Yui replied, finally giving him an answer. "Ok, great! Well I'll see you tomorrow then." He said, waving her goodbye before rushing off leaving the teen behind.

He hurried over to one of the registers, to make his purchase. Although he had to wait in line before doing so, it wasn't too long but still annoying nonetheless. He handed the cashier in front of him the necessary payment, before picking up the bags and leaving the store. He hurried down to the bus stop, taking him towards his next destination. While making sure nothing broke, as it rode off. Not wanting to waste anymore time, once it came to a stop he got off as quickly as he could and headed up towards to the ward.

He had successfully made it in time, he let out a sigh of relief; before he opened the door and closed it behind him as he entered. He stood there for a moment, waiting for the room to change before him. Rin was most likely absorbed in her work again, well it won't be long until she takes notice and let's him in.

Just like that, the room finally changed shape bringing him back to The Celestial Realm. He walked up to the door, putting his bags down for a moment to open it before picking them back up and going inside the house stationed within. Its design was based off of the one Rin grew up in before her Mom died back on Iwatodai. However, this didn't use to be the case. According to Rin, it was completely empty when she first got here. It wasn't until she learned how to manifest material objects, whether they're organic or inorganic that the space started filling out. The warmth and smells came flooding throughout his entire body, well warm enough for where Rin wouldn't get sick anyway. But it was still comfortable for him, he kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his jacket, and took off his scarf and gloves. He turned around and picked up the bags, heading inside and kicked the door close behind him. He went into the kitchen, where he would most likely find his girlfriend.

Lo and behold there she was, busy prepping dinner for the two of them. Wearing that cute apron whenever she cooked, he could just stand there watching you all night; but he needed to get started on making the cake. It was something that they would do every Christmas Eve back when they'd started dating. Rin would make dinner and he would make the cake, though normally he would have it already set to be decorated and they'd work on decorating it together. Sure, it wasn't anything fancy; just a plain white cake. It wasn't as great as anything Rin or Yuri would make. It was still good nonetheless, he actually felt he's improved since his first attempt. He could still remember how happy Rin was when she first saw it. He put the bags on a nearby counter, before he walked over to greet Rin; he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned his neck down close to Rin's ear, "Hey, now don't you look delicious." He said, in a low sultry voice before giving her a kiss on the cheek. This had snapped Rin out of it as she put down her utensils, he let go for a moment to let her turn around to face him. Giving him that adorable smile of hers, "Thank you, Tohru. But I'm not the meal." Rin said, jokingly. "Hm, could've fooled me." He remarked, as they brought each other into a deep embrace; with Rin wrapping her arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around her torso before they kissed. Feeling the soft touch of her lips before they parted, our breath hitched yet still held each other close. "So, how come you were late?" Rin asked, not letting him off the hook. Figures, she'd want an explanation. She'd gave him an inquisitive look, while she waitied for an answer. "I had to pick up some things." He replied, nudging his head towards the counter. Curious, Rin looked over at the counter, seeing the groceries before turning her attention back to him. "Some stuff happened and I wasn't able to get the cake ready, so I figured I'd go get the ingredients and just bring 'em here." He explained, her gaze softened. "That's all right, besides this way will be much more fun." Rin said, playfully. "After all, it's been quite a while since we last made something together." Rin said, happy of the opportunity that presented itself. "You're right, it has." He replied, as he flashed her a toothy grin. "Well, we'd better get started." He said, though neither one of them wanted to let the other go but knew they had to otherwise nothing would get done. They had released their grip, he rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands before getting started on the task at hand; while Rin returned to what she was doing prior to his arrival.

The two of them got to work, helping each other cook the turkey, side dishes, and the cake; enjoying themselves while they were at it. Having finally finished with all the cooking, they took the dishes and placed them on the table; before they sat down to enjoy the fruits of their labor. They dug in, it was all so good. Though, he shouldn't be too surprised at that. For he had an amazing cook by his side. While the two of them were eating, Rin spoke up and broke the silence between them. "Hey, so you said earlier that some stuff happened. Do you mind filling me in?." Rin asked, before taking a bite of her food. Mouth full, he nodded after swallowing his food; he went on to explain the thrilling chase after some guy who stole Narukami-chan's bag, with Narukami-chan in tow. Though wasn't aware of it at the time. Which ended up in them going down the rabbit hole into a world inside the TV. Finding a room that looked like a prison cell, being chased by a flock of crows then coming into contact with a bear, along with some creatures that came from blobs of goo. He was pretty sure they were the same ones that Rin and her siblings fought a couple years back. Thus resulting in them awakening their powers. She sat there listening intently to him, soaking up every bit of information; while taking more bites of her food. A mixture of emotions flickered in her eyes: worry, relief, amazement, and wonder.

After he had finished recounting his tale from the events prior, a brief moment of silence passed as Rin swallowed her food before she spoke. "Interesting, I never would've expected there'd be a shadow nest all the way out here in the countryside." Rin stated, nonchalantly. "I don't think anyone would, let alone one being inside a TV of all things." He said, before stuffing his face full with food. "True. Though, you could say the same about the Dark Hour and Tartarus. No one would expect there to be a hidden hour in the day or an entire school transforming into a tower, unless they'd experienced it for themselves." Rin refuted, "Yeah, you got a point there. If Narukami-chan and I hadn't seen it for ourselves we never would've known it was even there." He replied, after swallowing his food. "This brings up many questions. One of which, is what phenomenon is this other world connected to?" Rin asked, "Hm, what do you mean?" He asked, "Well, both the Dark Hour and Tartarus go hand in hand. That's most likely the same case with this as well, the question is what is it?" Rin pondered on this, "Does anything come to mind?" Rin asked him, he furrowed his brow trying to come up with some sort of clue. Then, like a bolt of lightning it hit him. It was a long shot, but just maybe there was more to that rumor than he first thought. "What? Did you think of something?" Rin asked, "Maybe, but I'm not too sure." He replied, "Anything is better than nothing, no matter how small." Rin said, "Not long before I met Narukami-chan, I heard a rumor about this weird program called The Midnight Channel." He explained, "The Midnight Channel?" Rin asked, "It was some urban legend, how at midnight if you stare at a TV on a rainy night you'll see your soulmate. Hence the name." He stated, "I see, have you tried it yourself Tohru?" Rin asked, curiously. "Nah, I don't need some strange ass program to tell me something I already know." He replied, Rin was flustered at this. Her face completely red, at the notion that he thought of her as his soulmate. "Oh, I'm glad that you think that." Rin replied, smiling while looking away from him. He chuckled at this, before she regained her composure as they continued their conversation.

"Well, it may not be much to go on but I'd say that's definitely worth looking into." Rin exclaimed, he nodded at that. "Hm, well it's not gonna rain for a while now. But, the next time it does we'll be sure to keep an eye out. Because, something tells me that this is somehow connected to what that bear told us." He said, "Hm, and that would be?" Rin asked, urging him to continue. "Something about how people were being thrown in there." He replied, this shocked Rin. She had a look of sheer terror on her face, "What's up?" He asked, not getting a response out of her. He put his utensil down, and went over to snap her out of it. However, when he was about to squeeze her shoulder he noticed that she was trembling. He picked up on that, he sat next to Rin and let her lay on his shoulder; while he held her closr and stroke her hair. Waiting for her to calm down, after a while Rin seemed to have finally calmed down enough to where she finally spoke. "Thank you, Tohru." Rin said, not saying a word he just gave a small smile; while he still soothed her. "So, what got you all spooked like that?" He asked, "It's because, if people are being thrown into that other world. Then.. They'll most likely die." Rin stated, He understood why Rin freaked out, they reacted the same way after the bear told them that. He inwardly cursed at that, then he suddenly realized something. Thinking back to what Long Nose said to them, how a mystery would befall upon them. He wondered if this is what he meant, that they were suppose to find whoever the culprit was. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts it wasn't until Rin nuzzled up against him that he was brought out of his stupor. He looked down at her, seeing how comfortable she looked. He honestly thought that maybe she had fallen asleep. He chuckled for a moment, giving her a gentle smile; happy that she was feeling better. The two of them stayed like that for sometime, holding each other close feeling the warmth of their breath on their skin. Ignoring the plates of food before them. He felt his understanding had grown a bit.

Before they knew it, the evening had flown by; and he was pretty sure it was getting late. Though it was hard to tell how much time has pass, whenever he was in here. Apparently Rin did fall asleep on his shoulder, not realizing this until she had stirred from her slumber. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have dozed off. But your shoulder felt so nice that I just couldn't help myself." Rin said, she apologized though still a bit tired from her nap; despite her playful nature. "Hey, I don't mind you using my shoulder as a pillow; besides it gave me an excuse for you to be in my arms again." He replied, playfully as he gave Rin a smirk; before giving her a kiss on the head. He let her go, before he got up. Rin pouted a bit at this, but sat up anyways.. He laughed at this, "You still want more after that? So needy, besides you still need to repay me for me letting you sleep on my shoulder. Not only that, we didn't even get to dessert." He said, smiling mischievously. Rin looked away, embarrassed by that. He bent down, and cupped her face raising it up towards him. "Don't worry, we'll just save that for another time." He said, in a seductive voice. His voice tinged with lust, eyes filled with hunger and desire. This made Rin's body shiver with excitement, heat pooling at her core. "I'm looking forward to it, and I'll make sure to repay you in kind." Rin said, with a cat like grin as she leaned into his touch; before he took his hand away.

He gave her a hand, helping her up as they got to cleaning up their mess. Luckily for them, it didn't take too long as they already took care of most of it back when they were making the food. It was a habit of Rin's to wash as she went along when she cooked. He didn't mind, as it made it a lot easier for them. All that there was to do, was put away the food and put the leftover food on their plates from tonight's feast into containers to be eaten at a later time. He took the container meant for him, they both headed towards the door as Rin saw him off. She held the container, while he put his shoes and jacket on. Rin handed him back the container, before he headed out. "I wish you didn't have to leave." Rin said, wistfully. "It can't be helped right now, but hopefully it won't be much longer until you can get outta here. I bet you'll look more beautiful than you did when you shapeshifted once its done." He said, "I don't know about that." Rin said, she blushed at his words. He smiled at how cute she was being right now. "Don't fret, sweetheart. I'll be back tomorrow. I actually have a surprise for you." He said, reassuringly. Rin's eyes lit up at this, "Really? What is it?' She asked, "You'll just have to wait and see." He replied, giving her a coy look on his face. Rin glared at him, annoyingly. He laughed at that, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said, before he left; with Rin waving him goodbye. Returning him back to the hospital room.

With his leftovers in tow, he exited the room. Making his way back down to the lobby, though not before running into a man who although looked young was in his mid to late forties. He had short blue hair that was all neat and tidy. He also wore square framed glasses, and a medical uniform. "Oh, hey Doc." He said, greeting him. Damian Hanno, though usually people called him Doc. Was a traveling doctor from overseas, famous for his healimg ablities and medical knowhow. He was also from Rin's homeland, which is why he was responsible for taking care of her; even while in that state. He didn't stay in one place to long, but healed those that he could. That's actually how they first met, he was brought on due to his knowledge of ability users. After having a run-in with a pyro, during a case back when he was a rookie. He helped them out from time to time, while still taking care of other patients. "Ah, 's good to see you." Doc. said, returning his greeting. "I hope your evening has been good so far." Doc. said, in a polite manner. Doc. was always friendly towards others, which helped put his patients at ease. "Yeah, I say it's been pretty good so far." He replied, Doc. gave him a stern look. "Hey, we didn't do anything weird. All we did, was just have dinner. That's all." He said, defensively. He knew how protective Doc. was of Rin, he'd saw her as a little sister. "Alright." Seeing his answer as acceptable, "Speaking of Rin, how much longer until her transformation is done?" He asked, curiously. "It actually won't be that much longer now, actually it should be finished in a few more weeks." Doc. said, he was surprised by this. "Really, that's great! I can't wait to tell Rin the good news." He exclaimed, not expecting this. Now he had another surprise for her. "Yes, I'll continue to take care of her until then." Doc. said, "Yeah, I know. You'd probably die before you'd let anything bad happen to her." He said, jokingly as he laughed. Though he wouldn't be surprised if he did. Seeing as how much he cared for his patients, no matter what walks of life they came from. That's just how Doc. was, "Ha, very funny." Doc. said, sarcastically. But knew what the young detective said was true, otherwise her grandma would kill him. "Well, I should get back to work. I'll see you later." Doc. said as they waved each other off. He headed on down, leaving the hospital and returned to his apartment.

12/24/2011

Earlier that day Haruno Shirobana was busy looking into missing persons reports that occured over the past two years, he was able to have Nagato acquire those for him. Having a friend who was the head of an intelligence agency did have its perks. He remembered Nagato telling him how he had Mayuri look into a possible rumored Mokushiroku base in Inaba two years ago, and after what they saw yesterday there was no doubt they were here. Hiding in a small town like this, and throwing people into the TV doing who knows what. That would explain as to why Mayuri couldn't find anything, because their base was inside a TV. Apparently, there weren't any reports in Inaba, makes sense they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves. Then he realized something, but he'd need to see it for himself. Actually, he might be able to right now. Putting the documents away, before heading into a nearby interrogation room within the Iburoku HQ main branch in Tokyo. Inside the room, was a montor. He put his hand up to it, seeing if he could enter that other world. Because if he could enter into it all the way out here, then they could easily put their victims in from other places around the world. Just like that, his hand went straight on through. Though he suposed it made sense, Personas were the evolved forms of Stands after all. He'd need to inform the others, especially Nagato. Bringing his hand out of the monitor, pulling his hood up before leaving the agency.

Keeping his face hidden, for he was not supposed to exist. Though, on the rare occasion he'd have to show his face he'd use his ability to shapeshift to keep himself hidden; despite his Celestial bloodline being as strong as his mother's. Not letting anyone know who he truly was, using the alias Haruno Shirobana. For he was the former leader of Passioné, Keyblade Master, and one of the previous rulers of the Abyss. Who had left decades ago, after passing on his title, and knowledge to his descendants and those who carried his will. His real name, was Giorno Giovanna. He was off to go visit his friend Nagato Matsuo, the most recent ruler of the Abyss. Until an unknown enemy; equal in strength to the demon that plagued his mother's race for centuries and responsible for what happened to his father. Had invaded the Abyss, defeating him, and left him on death's door. Next thing Nagato knew, he woke up in the middle of nowhere; still an absolute mess. Though, he was able to find refuge in a small cafe. The owner had took him in, and gave him a place to rest and recover. Of course, it wasn't for free though. In exchange, he'd help out looking after the place. The owner taught him everything he knew about the business, Nagato really respected him; trying to pay his debt. However, during this Nagato had found out that monster had started a war against both his mother's race and the Unemma. This infuriated Nagato, though he knew he had to do something. But it was too soon for that, in his current state he would just end up dead. After that he was determined to get stronger, so that when the time came he would be ready.

It was late in the afternoon, by the time he arrived. Opening up the door, leading into the small cafe known as Cafe: Haven. Nagato took over the place after the previous owner retired, since there was no one else to take up the business. Plus, the owner had taken a liking to him as well. Nagato had expanded its reach to other parts of the country, wanting to extend the same hospitality that he was shown. Of course, not before finding and training someone to look after the main branch. It took him sometime but he finally found someone worthy. It was the same case with the other branches as well.

He went on in, seeing Nagato maning the counter he took a seat on one of the bar stools; before shift-shaped and removing his hood. "Good evening, sir!" Nagato said, excited to see him. "You don't have to keep calling me that." He said, Nagato went to go close up shop early. With it being the holidays, no one was really there. This way, they could speak freely amongst themselves and there were seals in place to make sure nothing leaked out. Those jerks were just as good at obtaining information just as well as Nagato, they couldn't be too careful. Once Nagato had finished, he returned back to his original form. Nagato returned to the counter, and whipped up a batch of coffee for the two of them. He got out two cups, and poured the hot beverage into them. "It's good to see you, Nagato." He said, giving him a smile. He honestly thought he'd ever get the chance to see him again, for the longest time he truly thought Nagato was dead. It wasn't until almost five years ago, that they saw each other again. He remembered how Nagato was a blubbering mess that day. Who knew that it would be his current pupil, and his granddaughter that would lead him back to him. "Likewise." Nagato replied, they took a sip from their cups. "How have you been?" Nagato asked, "Well, a lot has happened as of late." He answered, "Oh, that so?" Nagato asked, He went on to explain all that happened, along with what he discovered earlier today. Nagato was stunned by this, "Darn it! No wonder we couldn't find them! All this time, they were hiding right under our noses!" Nagato vented in frustration, he slammed his cup down with a bit of it spilling out. As Nagato felt the weight on his shoulders coming down on him, for not being able to protect those innocent people from those scum. He put down his own cup before putting a hand on Nagato's shoulder, trying to calm him down. Nagato looked up, ashamed at his actions. "Forgive me, Master Gio." Nagato said, as he apologized. "It's alright, I get why you're frustrated. But now we're a step closer to putting an end to Mokushiroku." He said, reassuringly. "You're right, though I am a bit embarrassed as I seemed to have wasted a bit of coffee. Thankfully, it didn't all go to waste." Nagato replied, before grabbing a napkin and wiping it up. He chuckled at that, taking another sip. Nagato did love his coffee; just as much as Rin loved her tea. Having finished cleaning up his mess, Nagato took the pot and poured a bit more in before taking a sip from his cup. "I'll make sure to pass that along to Mayuri." Nagato said, "I doubt there's any need for that. Most likely, either Rin or Tohru will fill her in." He said, after taking a sip. "So, what is it that Mayuri should be looking for?" Nagato asked, before drinking more of the hot beverage. He was hesitant to say at first, although he knew Mayuri was given dangerous assignments before, but there was a chance of her encountering the Phoenix. Mayuri was capable of handling herself, but it was too risky. However, despite that Mayuri knew what those risks were going in. She was willing to put her life on the line, wanting to bring to justice those who hurt her surrogate little sister. Besides, they both knew although there haven't been any reports in Inaba; doesn't mean there won't be. "Traces of ash." He replied, after mulling it over. "Understood, I'll let Mayuri know then." Nagato said, "By the way, I've heard that the renovations are close to being finished. Which means, I'll be able to open up the cafe in Inaba soon." Nagato said, bringing the conversation to a more lighter tone. "Really? I'm glad to hear that." He said, happy to hear the good news. "Do you already have someone lined up to look after things here?" He asked, "I do, actually. I look forward to introducing him to you." Nagato replied, as the two of them continued to enjoy the calming atmosphere of the cafe. Chatting amongst themselves, the conversation much lighter than before; while occasionally taking drinks of their coffee. Of course, that wasn't the only thing. As Nagato surprised him with a feast of their own. Before they knew it, time had flew on by. To the point, where it was time for him to leave. He thanked Nagato for the meal and the coffee. They said their goodbyes, before he left the cafe. Returning to the rural town of Inaba.

End of chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was rough, to say the least. I wasn't expecting for it to take me almost a month to get this done. But its finally finished.
> 
> I also was able to officially introduce two more of my OC's, Nagato and Damian.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: Reunion with an Old Friend and Secrets Revealed


	7. Chapter 7: Reunion with an Old Friend and Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui celebrates her sixteenth birthday in Inaba with her new friends, along with a old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is late. I was working on editing my previous chapters, along with my review for Yakuza 0.
> 
> Also, I recently looked and this story now has over 200 views. Thank you all for your continued support.
> 
> I also want to say Happy belated Birthday to my favorite trash husbando Adachi. I can't wait to write his birthday chapter, it's gonna be interesting to say the least. I may have to put a warning though.
> 
> Now let us continue.
> 
> Disclaimer: Persona 4 and its characters and settings are owned by Atlus, and JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is owned by Hirohiko Araki. The only things I own are my OC's.

12/25/2011

Weather: Party Cloudy

(Yui's POV)

She'd gotten up and was ready for the day ahead, she was invited to go and visit Rin with Adachi and Yuri today. Although, she hadn't met Yuri herself; she did hear about her in Rin's letters though. She wasn't too sure when they were suppose to meet up, she probably should've asked Adachi-san for his number yesterday. Well, she'd meet up with them at the hospital later anyways. She put on a long sleeved dark plaid shirt with a light yellow blouse underneath, and a long black skirt that went to her knees, and black leggings.

She grabbed her stuff, and the gifts before heading on down to join the Dojima's for breakfast. "Merry Christmas!" Nanako said, excitedly. "Hey, Merry Christmas." Dojima said, giving her a smile. "Merry Christmas, to you too." She said, returning it in kind and putting her stuff down; before sitting down at the table. The three of them spent Christmas morning together, they ate breakfast and exchanged gifts. It was pretty enjoyable, and Dojima and Nanako seemed to like the gifts she got for them. She had gotten Nanako a cute pink scarf, and Dojima a ashtray. They really appreciated the thought, and thanked her.

She also liked the gifts she received from her uncle and cousin. Dojima got for her, it was a journal with a yellow cover. He figured she could use to write about her time here in Inaba. Nanako made her a cute drawing of when they spent time together in the kitchen. She was grateful for the presents she received, and thanked them.

Time had flew by, and it was already into the early afternoon. When she went to go grab her things, Dojima noticed this and asked her where she was going. She told him she was going to go visit a friend of hers, her friend was in the hospital at the moment and she didn't want her to spend Christmas alone. She hoped that would be enough for Dojima to let her go, and it was. She thanked him, before she got her stuff along with her gift to Rin; and let them know she'd be back later as she left.

Yui headed to the shopping district, and waited at the bus stop for it to take her to the Inaba Municipal Hospital. She figured that Adachi-san and Yuri-san were probably there by now. It took a bit but the bus finally came, as she got on it took her towards destination. Having arrived at the hospital, she got off and headed inside. Seeing the young detective as she entered, along with a young woman in her late twenties, with long brunette hair tied up in two buns and violet colored eyes. She was pretty, but just looking at her you could tell she was full of energy to the point where it was radiating off of her. she wore a orange long sleeved brown shirt with an orange blouse underneath, a brown skirt with dark brown leggings, and a burgundy coat. Standing next to the one of the receptionist desks. She called over to them, alerting them of her presence. They turned around, greeting her with a smile. But, before either one could get a word in; the young woman took hold of her. "Oh my gosh! It's so great to finally meet you, Naru-chan. I've heard so much about you from Rin." The young woman squealed with delight, as she hugged her. The young woman's actions had left her speechless, "Heh, sorry about that Narukami-chan. Yuri's been like that for as long as I've known her." Adachi said, apologizing to her. "I-its fine." She said, her voice returning. "So you must be Yuri-san, then?" She asked the young woman, "Yup! Though, that's just what my friends call me. I'm Totsuka Mayuri." Yuri said, introducing herself to her; after finally releasing her. "It's nice to finally meet you too, Mayuri-san. Rin mentioned you a lot in her letters." She said, returning the greeting. "Oh, no need to be so formal with me Naru-chan. Just call me, Yuri." Yuri said, cheerfully. "Ok, then. Yuri-san." She said, still a bit dazed from Yuri's antics; feeling as if she's gone through a whirlwind. "Well, let's get going. Don't want to keep Rin waiting." Adachi said, "Yeah, just let me sign in real quick." She said, before heading over to the reception desk. After she signed in, they headed on up to the room Rin was in.

Once they got there, they opened the door; she couldn't believe at what she saw. Her mouth agape, she was utterly and completely dumbfounded at the sight before her. She knew that Rin was sick, but didn't know the full extent of what was wrong with her. She could see why Rin never told her, it's not something that was easy to explain unless you saw it with your own eyes.

She tried to speak, but no words came out. "Yeah, pretty shocking isn't it? I was the same way when Dachi first showed me." Yuri said, "And this isn't the weirdest part." Yuri stated, it was then that the room started to change around them. Taking them to who knows where. The hospital's walls and ceiling was replaced with a beautiful starry night sky, and a spacious room before them. Despite the room already containing: a house, a beautiful garden filled with many different types of fruits and vegetables, along with various types of flowers, and a training ground. It still looked like it could go on for miles. It was completely vast, like a great ocean; and where they were standing felt like they were on the shore of an island. It was baffling, to say the least. "Where are we?" She asked, wondering where they were taken. Before she could get an answer, a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She came up to them, and greeted them with a gentle smile; which for some reason felt familar to her. "Merry Christmas, everyone." She said greeting them, "Merry Christmas, to you too. Rin!" Yuri exclamed, before bringing her in for quick hug. "Merry Christmas to you too, Rin." Adachi said, before he kissed her. The realization dawning on her that the boyfriend that Rin had mentioned in her letters was none other than Adachi-san, and that the young woman in front of her was none other than Rin herself.

Rin's gaze finally fell on her, taking notice of her presence. Rin walked up to her, taking a closer look at her. "Yui-chan? Is that really you?" Rin asked, She nodded, before Rin wrapped her arms around her and wept tears of joy. "Happy Birthday, Yui-chan. I'm so happy to see you." Rin said, "Thanks, and I'm glad to see you too." Her bewildered expression had been replaced with a small smile, returning her gesture in kind. With all questions she previously had were put on hold for the moment.

Rin let go of her and turned around to face Adachi, Is this the surprise that you mentioned yesterday?" Rin asked, "Well, it's one of them." Adachi said, "There's more?" Rin asked, curious of what other surprises Adachi had in store for her. Adachi nodded in response to Rin's question, before Rin turned her attention back to her. "Come on inside, we can talk in there. I know you probably have a lot of questions you want to ask." Rin said, gesturing them to follow her into the house. Which they did so, though not before the girls put their bags down; and took off their shoes, scarfs, gloves, and coats off.

"Make yourselves at home." Rin said, before going to the kitchen. She and Yuri sat on one of the adjacent sofas, while Adachi sat on the other. Rin had returned to the living room, after making a few trips; bringing out trays of food for them to enjoy. Along with plates and utensils for them. "Feel free to get dig in." Rin said, as she gestured before sitting next to Adachi on the other sofa. It looked absolutely amazing, it had been years since she's had Rin's cooking; it honestly didn't feel real to her. "By the way, Yui-chan. If you're wondering, yes the food is real." Rin said, she was taken aback by this; it was as if she had read her mind.

They went and took the food from the trays, and put the food on their plates. "So, you're probably wondering where we are? Aren't you? Yui-chan." Rin asked, she nodded; with plate in hand. "This place, is known as The Celestial Realm. A separate plane of reality where those of my race, who have Celestial blood within them are sent to during their transformation state." Rin explained, this had taken her aback; that Rin wasn't human. She had no idea, for she didn't look any different from everyone else. "Wait? You're not human?" She asked, "Well, I'm actually half human. But, yes. I'm sorry that didn't tell you in my letters, but this was something I needed to tell you in person." Rin said, picking up a piece of food from one of the trays; and putting it on her plate. "I see, so what are you then?" She asked, "I'm a Draconian. Well, half Draconian anyway." Rin stated. "I didn't even know myself until I was fifteen, my mother never got the chance to tell me. It's also one of the reasons why a trail of blood has followed me like a dark cloud. It also didn't help being the granddaughter of the current ruler of Oupavia, Luna Alucard as well." Rin explained, this both shocked and saddened her. She could understand now why she didn't tell her. Like her Rin was an only child, she had no siblings and her Dad was always busy with work; even when he wasn't he was distant towards her. She was alone, isolated, an outcast. She desired companionship, but no one gave it to her in return. Those who did, usually turned her away after seeing her true nature. The only ones that didn't were the ones that Rin considered them as family, and the fear of losing them absolutely terrified Rin; especially after what had happened to Mai. But she never expected her to also be royalty as well, however what did she mean by the 'trail of blood'.

"I see." She said, it was Rin's turn to be shocked; before bursting into tears. Knowing that she didn't need to say anything else; for it didn't matter whether or not she wasn't fully human or whether or not she lived a normal life. To her she was just Rin, and that's all that mattered to her.

"So, when did Adachi-san and Yuri-san find out?" She asked, "Tohru found out the same time I did, and Sis found out not long after I had turned sixteen when one of my family servants tried to bring me back home. Even though I was already planning on transferring to my homeland for my second year of high school, so I could get to know more about my family, our race, and my abilities. There was only so much that Big Brother Damian and Uncle Wakabe could teach me, but unfortunately I could only stay for a year; before returning to Iwatodai but it was enough." Rin explained, "Why only a year though? Did something happen?" She asked, "Actually, something had already happened at the time. When I was little my mother was researching creatures known as Shadows alongside the Kirjo Group." She was astonished at this, the same company her Dad worked for were researching the same creatures that she and Adachi-san fought the other day. "What?! Why were they researching those things?!" She exclaimed, "They wanted to know more about their abilities, however my mother and one of her colleagues weren't like that. They wanted to know more about the Shadows thoughts and feelings, but something went wrong and because of that it brought about the creation of the phenomenon known as The Dark Hour." Rin explained, both she and Yuri were taken aback by that. "Does that mean that she's a Persona user too?" She thought, "Later on, ablity users wielding a power known as Personas came into being; both naturally and unnaturally. I, like you and Tohru awoken mine naturally during the start of my third year." Rin continued, answering her question; she wondered if maybe Rin was psychic. Not even missing a beat she'd answered that one too. "And yes, I am psychic. One of the many abilities my race wields: along with shift-shaping, clairvoyance, mind reading, incredible strength, and summoning weapons. Those were the main abilities of our race, of course there were also those who could utilize elemental abilities, and healing as well." Rin continued, she was amazed at her friend.

"What's a Persona?" Yuri asked, Rin's eyes lit up at her question; then put down her plate and went to move away from the table. A summoning circle surrounded Rin, "Now, cone forth Minerva!" Rin called out, bringing forth the roman goddess of wisdom. "What the hell is that thing?!" Yuri asked, "It's a Persona, a physical representation of the mask one wears to face life's hardships." Rin said, they looked at it with awe before it disappeared. "I figured the best way to answer your question was to just show you. It's much easier to understand once you've seen it with your own eyes." Rin surmised, "I guess that makes sense." Yuri said, "So, both Dachi and Naru also have one?" They nodded, "But the way we summoned ours was different than how Rin did it. I'm not sure how we even summon ours." She said, "Well, if anyone would know how it'd be Rin." Adachi suggested, he was mostly quiet throughout the majority of their conversation: enjoying the food before them eating his fill and listening to them. "Well, what did you two use to summon them?" Rin asked, "I think we used these to summon them." Adachi said, before pulling a card out of his pocket. "A card? Huh, its definitely different from how my siblings summoned theirs." Rin mused, while she looked it over. "How'd they do it?" Adachi asked, Rin grimaced at that. "It was pretty horrifying, they had to pretend to shoot themselves." Rin said, their stomachs lurched at that statement. "It really scared me when I saw my siblings first do it. They never heard the end of it from me, which is why I came up with a different method utilizing both the teachings from my homeland along with my mother's research and thus this was one of the results." Rin said, "One of them? What was the other?" Adachi asked, before she gave him a sly smile. "I'll show you later, once we've finished eaten. But back to the matter at hand, after taking a closer look I think I figured how you two can summon your Persona." Rin said, "Really? How?" Adachi asked, "It's actually quite simple, you just need to crumple it up like a piece of paper: while calling your Personas. Though, since the card is made of glass it will most likely shatter; but don't worry it won't break it will simply reform itself once you've sent it back inside you." Rin explained, before giving Adachi back the playing card."Is it really that simple?" They thought, as Adachi held the card in his hand, while she took out her own. They might as well give it a try, they put their plates down on the table before getting up and moving away from the table. They held their cards in hand, and doing what Rin suggested. "Izanagi!," She cried out, "Magatsu-Izanagi!" Adachi did the same, as well. It seemed to have worked, their Persona out in full display; and when they disappeared the cards regained its glass-like shape. Now all they needed to was hone their new found powers. Rin looked at them with awe and admiration. "So that's what yours looks like." Rin murmured as she beamed at them, looking at them eagerly. Rin really wanted to put their skills to the test, and the best way to do that was through some good old fashioned sparing.

They went to rejoin the others, "So, how did you guys awaken yours. I know now that Rin awakened hers not long after she went back to her hometown, and that you guys awakened yours just recently. But, how exactly to you all gain that power?" Yuri asked, curiously. "It's actually quite an interesting story. You see, a few days after the new term started; during the Dark Hour my older brother Akihiko encountered one of the Twelve." Rin began to regale her tale to them, "The Twelve?" They thought, wondering what Rin meant. This, however wasn't new to Adachi as Rin had already told him how she obtained her Persona and about The Twelve and how her and her siblings were tricked into defeating them by Shuji Ikutsuki.

"However, he got injured and had to return to the dorms; but he ended up leading it back to us and we had to evacuate up to the roof. But, there were actually two of them and the one that Akihiko faced made its way up to the roof. It was then, that both my little brother Minato and I awoken ours during the fight." Rin said, having finished recording her tale to them. It was now their turn, they recalled the events from the other day and infored Yuri about how they wound up in the world inside the TV, how they came across the cell, how they ran into Shirobana-san, and encountered several different creatures including a strange bear; which lead up to their awakening.

This astonished Yuri, as frustratiion lined her features. "So that's where they were hiding." Yuri murmured, Rin's eyes held a stern gaze, "What do you mean by that?" Rin asked, with a hint of irritation in her voice. Yuri looked away, she hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I guess it's my turn to come clean." Yuri said, with a sad smile. This confused her and Rin, while Adachi looked like someone preparing for an explosion to go off. "You see, three years ago. I was brought on by the Iburoku Intelligence Agency they thought my skills as a journalist could be used for info gathering and reconnaissance. I've been working with them ever since, and one of my recent assignments was to follow up on a rumor about a Mokushiroku base here in Inaba. It's been almost two years since then, though I did take up smaller assignments I couldn't find a single lead. But as it turns out they were right under my noses." They let the information sink in for a moment, then Rin spoke, "Who was it that recruited you? Was it my uncle or was it Matsuo-san?" Rin asked, her voice steady and calm; but her eyes held a steel gaze. It was like a calm before the storm. "It was Matsuo-san, why? Does it matter?" Yuri asked, "Not really, because either one will get their butts kicked once I get out. The nerve of them bringing you into this. I swear... If something happened..." Rin trailed off, fighting back the tears that wished to spill out. Yuri chuckled at this, "It's ok, I knew the risks going into it. Even still, I just couldn't sit back and do nothing. You don't have to worry about me, I can take cate of myself; besides I have my own set of ablities I can use against them." Yuri said, they were taken aback by this. "What?!" they exclaimed, "Yep, turns out I had the prowess to wield spirit energy. I mostly use it through my camera trapping my enemies, and analyzing their spirit energy through my photos. Those are just a couple of methods, pretty cool huh?" Yuri said, they were stunned by this. "Thank you for telling us Yuri, but even though you are strong; please be careful." Rin asked, worried for her older sister. "Don't worry, I will be." Yuri reassured her. "I know, but the main reason why I'm worried; is because you could be one of their potential targets." Rin said, "What do you mean?" Yuri asked, they then explained how people were being thrown into the TV. Yuri gasped at this, not only were they using that other world as a base; but were also using it to hurt innocent people. A fire burned within Yuri's eyes, her determination never wavered. Yuri asked if they've found any leads so far, the only thing they had to go on was some urban legend known as The Midnight Channel. Yuri had about this before, but she had no idea what this alleged Midnight Channel was. Adachi explained it to her, that on a rainy night if you watch a blank TV alone at midnight you'll see your soulmate; however it maybe that those who show up get thrown into the TV. A chill ran down their spines, "Ok, then. Whenever it rains, we'll need to make sure to check out the Midnight Channel." Yuri declared, they wanted to say something but knew her mind was already made up. "Also, in case Rin isn't out by then; someone will need to keep an eye on the monitor and let her know." Yuri stated, "Do you know how much longer it will be?" She asked Rin, before Rin could answer Adqchi butted in. "About that, I found out yesterday that it won't be that much longer now. It'll just be a few more weeks until then." Adachi said, giving them the good news. "Really?! That's awesome!" Yuri exclamed, "That's good to hear." She said, happy for Rin. "Finally, I thought it never finish." Rin said, relieved to hear that. "I'm assuming that was what the other surprise was." Rin surmised, "Yeah, it was." Adachi said, "By the way, you said earlier that you sent to this during your transformation phase. But, what exactly is that? And how long have you been here?" She asked, "Well, to put in layman terms; it's pretty much our races form of puberty. And I've been in here for almost two years now. It was around the end of the school year that it happened, it was also when my little brother Minato had died." Rin said, somberly. They were silent at this, she and Yuri had no idea; and most likely didn't want to talk about what happened. With the tension weighing down on them, Yuri changed the subject, bringing the tone back to a lighter note. "Hey, you know what? Why don't we throw a party for Rin, once she gets out? After all, it will most likely be around her birthday at the time. So, why not?" Yuri suggested, trying to cheer us up. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Plus, you'll be old enough to drink too." Adachi said, not opposing the idea. Rin chuckled at this, "I'll need to make sure to bring some non-alcoholic stuff for Yui-chan. But, do you mind waiting until I get settled in first?" Rin asked, "Sure, no problem. Just let me know, and we'll work out the details from there." Yuri said, cheerfully.

The rest of the time they spent together, was much more light-hearted. She and Rin had finished eating then went and exchanged gifts amongst themselves, she had received a cute white lily flower pin from Rin; she would definitely wear it whenever she got the chance. She then gave Rin a origami shaped owl, ever since they first met she would make her something. She didn't care if it was childish, Rin enjoyed them and even started a collection of the crafts she'd make for her. Adachi went and gave Rin a beautiful star shaoed charm, littered with blue and purple gems. While Rin gave Adachi a red tie and gave Yuri some really cute beads that had rabbits lined on it; and Adachi gave Yuri a really cool looking fountain pen.

After that they put away the trays and put their dishes in the sink. Then Rin suggested that they do some training, she really wanted to see their abilities in action; not only that she wanted to put her own skills to the test. They agreed to this, and went outside to the training grounds.

(Insert: The Ultimate from Persona 4 Arena)

Before they started Rin took her hands, as a blue fire surrounded her hands and a katana was forged. Rin handed it to her, accepting it. Then they went and took their stance, each one was different. Her stance, strong and firm. Adachi's was bit more loose and chaotic. Yuri's was more upbeat and bouncy. And Rin's was serene and peaceful, but it felt that there was a great strength hidden underneath her calm exterior. As if, she was looking at a true master. "Alright, come at me with everything you've got. Don't hold anything back." Rin stated, she stood there looking for an opening. While Adachi went and made the first move, he summoned his Persona and imagined the same feeling he felt back in the TV world. He commanded his Persona and brought down a blast of magic. However, Rin blocked it easily. This annoyed Adachi, "Not bad, but you'll need to do more than that if you wish to beat me." Rin chided, it was then that Yuri launched a surprise attack; and then unleashed a barrage of punches at Rin. Rin blocked them with ease, her moves held grace and finesse. It was during this she brought Izanagi and sent a bolt of lightning at Rin. Rin barely dodged it, and Yuri was able to get a hit in; this took Rin by surprise that Yuri was able to hurt her. Yuri followed up with a blast of spirit energy, She utilized great speed and dodged the attack. Then summoned a pistol and shot a blast of energy, Yuri barely dodged it, it was then they realized that Rin was holding back herself. "I'm impressed, you almost had me there; you even got me to bring out my pistol." Rin said, but there was something off. Like a switch had turned off in her brain, and looked like she was enjoying herself. Adachi had a sadistic grin on his face, before going on the offensive again. His movements fast and frantic, but was able to push Rin back. She followed up on the momentum, backing Adachi up; she sent another blast of lightning at Rin. She tried to dodge it, but Adachi wasn't gonna let her get away so easily and rushed at her. Yuri used that chance to catch her off guard with a blast of spirit energy. This went on for a while, until Rin brought the match to an end. They ended up working up quite a sweat, but it was a lot of fun. "Good, but you guys still have a long way to go before you beat me." Rin said, having analyzed their progress. This lit a fire in them, wanting to become stronger so they can beat Rin.

Once they finished, they gathered their things, and thanked Rin before they bade her goodbye. They then left and were sent back to the hospital. The feeling having coming out of that strange realm, was absolutely bizarre. Shaking out of her stupor she was about to head home, but before that. "Hey, Adachi-san. About the other day, thanks, you and Shirobana-san really helped me out. I was weak, and I was so scared that I couldn't even move. If I hadn't summoned my Persona I know I would've died. I was weak, I'm sorry. I held you back, but I'll get stronger so that I won't hold you back." She said, with determination. Adachi chuckled at that, before rubbing her head. "Don't worry about it, Narukami-chan. You actually did pretty well, despite it being your first time." Adachi said, reassuringly. "Yeah, even during our spar with Rin you did great Naru-chan. We just gotta get stronger, and will show those jerks what were made of." Yuri said, confidently; as she praised her. "Right." She said, "Oh, here give me your phone real quick. I'll give you mine and Dachi's number. Of course, I'll need yours as well." Yuri said, as she took her phone and put in their contact info; then inputed her number into her phone and then sent it Adachi befote handing the phone back to her. "There we go, now if something happens we'll be able to contact each other." Yuri chirped, before they left the hospital. By the time they left it was already into the evening, they had no idea it had gotten so late. "Do you need a ride Naru-chan?" Yuri offered, she took her up on that. They got into her car before making their way towards the Dojima household.

Having arrived at the Dojima residence, she thanked Yuri for the ride. She went inside and let Dojima and Nanako know that she was home, before taking off her shoes and coat; then took her bag and the pin. Before heading upstairs, putting them away then got out the journal Dojima gave her. She at the desk, and began to write about the day's events; with a smile gracing her features. When she had finished, she got ready for bed; though not before receiving a text. She looked to see who it was from, and saw it was from her Mom wishing her happy birthday and a Merry Christmas. Along with letting her know how she was doing, and that she hoped she was getting along with Dojima and Nanako; though she didn't need to worry about that. So far they were getting along pretty well, her mom told her goodnight as she had to get back to work. She was glad she'd finally got to hear from her mom, she closed her then headed onto bed.

End of chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a heavy exposition chapter but I had to get this out thete. It was a bit rough, but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless. I also was able to fully introduce Yuri as well.
> 
> Now the next chapter may be the last interlude chapter before I return to the main plot. Unless its a shorter chapter then I might just go ahead and get back into it, we'll see.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: The Beginning of A New Year


	8. Chapter 8: The Beginning of A New Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes celebrate New Year's together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I forgot to mention this back in the notes of previous chapter. Rin calls herself half Draconian, however she is actually part gem. Draconite, to be precise. It was much easier to just call herself that without diving too deep into it, for I do plan on going more in-depth on this in a later fic. But basically The Draconite's were like Quartz soldiers, but like Pearls were only assigned to elites as their protectors. To live and die for their masters and to uphold and maintain the order of The Diamond Authority was their purpose.
> 
> By the way, I'm gonna be intersecting myself a bit into this fic; because after all the evidence I've seen I strongly believe that Adachi's an aspie. Which is something I appreciate how Atlus has shown both characters on the spectrum in both a positive and a negative light.
> 
> This will be the last chapter of the first interlude arc before we return to the main plot.
> 
> Now let us continue

12/26/2011-12/30/2011

The following days were pretty peaceful, with it being winter break and all. Yui would use that time to either spend time with Chie, Yukiko, or Nanako and sometimes Yuri when she wasn't busy working. Or she would head inside the TV to train along with Adachi-san or Shirobana-san if Adachi-san was busy. She didn't feel all that confident enough in her ablities to head in there by herself, and if she couldn't enter the TV that day she'd go and train with Rin.

Things were also pretty quiet down at the station as well, other than the ongoing purse snatcher case the days were filled with meaningless tasks as usual. Adachi still hadn't found any new leads on that, so there wasn't much he could do in that regard. So whenever he wasn't busy doing grunt work or actually investigating he would head out into the TV for some training. When Adachi came back he'd just say he was out investigating, which was technically true so he had nothing to worry about there. And if Narukami-chan wasn't busy he'd have her come with him. Otherwise, he'd go in with Haruno-sensei; after all he had nothing better to do during the day. The evening, however was a different story altogether. Depending on whether or not he was tired after his excursions into the TV world, once his shift was over Adachi would go and see Rin like always. Whether it was filling her in on their forays into the world inside the TV, venting his frustrations from the workday, or just having 'fun'.

12/31/2011

Weather: Rain

It was the last day of the year and though neither one had been in Inaba for long so much has happened in that short amount of time. Although they didn't know what the future had in store for them in the coming year, they knew it would be exciting nonetheless. They were now spending the last remaining hours of the year at the Dojima residence. Eating the soba that Yui prepared earlier for them. She was glad she went to the store earlier to pick up the ingredients, otherwise she'd be stuck out in the rain. Luckily, it wouldn't be raining throughout the evening so they didn't need to worry about having to check The Midnight Channel tonight. Putting that out of her mind for the time being, Yui continued enjoying the company of the Dojimas along with her new friends Adachi-san and Yuri-san. There was even a new face amongst them, a friend of Dojima's and a close friend of Adachi-san's and Yuri-san's. His name was Kai Higumo.

Adachi wasn't one who really cared for New Year's all that much. Hell, he still didn't even to this day. People standing out in the cold just to see the fireworks, and all the noise that was made to ring in the new year. It was utterly pointless and annoying. It wasn't until Adachi was older that he could at the very least tolerate the holiday, with being able to drink to take the edge off and then having a girlfriend to kiss when it strick midnight. Though, that part was hard at the moment with Rin being in the hospital and all. Sure, he didn't mind spending New Year's with Yuri and Kai but he'd much rather spend it with his girlfriend instead. Unfortunately for him, Adachi wasn't able to do either one last year; though he didn't spend it alone he had Haruno-sensei to keep him company it still wasn't the same. But now that he was here in Inaba Adachi would be able to ring in the year with the two people that were the closest thing to family to him. But, he wasn't expecting to be invited by Yuri to come spend New Year's with her at the Dojima residence. He figured Yuri had some sort of relationship with Dojima-san, whether or not it was romantic wasn't really all that clear to him. Though, Adachi didn't care either way; it wasn't really wasn't any of his business who Yuri dated as long as they weren't some asshole. Luckily, that was something he didn't have to worry about with Dojima-san. Adachi wasn't lying about what he said to Narukami-chan that day. Sure, it may have frustrated him to no end how hard he worked him; but he knew Dojima-san was a good guy all around. Plus, he was a good drinking buddy as well. As much as he liked Yuri and Kai, they weren't the best to be around when they were drunk. Yuri, was an absolute klutz; to the point where she'd trip over her own two feet or wind up breaking something. She was basically a walking disaster, to the point where they were always worried that she'd end up hurting herself one of these days or she'd wreck the place. It was annoying as hell to deal with, and Kai wasn't any better; but at least it made for an interesting night at least. Kai would be the type to start bar fights, Adachi couldn't tell you how many times he got roped into his fights just from trying to put a stop to it; and if it was just them he'd challenge him to a fight. Adachi would always come out on top, though it didn't help that Kai had slacked off on his training. Unlike him, but Adachi didn't mind it all that much; it was fun and a good way to help sober him up. So, when Yuri had said that Kai would be coming as well; to say that he was concerned was an understatement. Hopefully, those two would go easy on the drinks tonight. Thank goodness, so far they did. While they did open a few cans already, it wasn't to the point where they got completely plastered; as they enjoyed the soba Narukami-chan made for them. It was really good, and so far the evening was pleasant enough. They enjoyed each other's company, until it was midnight and celebrated the coming of the new year with both his family and his new friends. It was almost perfect, the only one that was missing was Rin.

It wasn't until around 12:30 in the morning that they'd started wrapping things up. Narukami-chan and Dojima-san sent them off as the three of them headed home for the night.

1/1/2012

Weather: Partly Sunny

It was the first morning of the new year. Yui had gotten up later than she'd normally would, having gone to bed much later than usual; due to having to clean up the mess from last night. She'd headed on downstairs, Nanako and Dojima were already up by the time she came down. They said good morning to her and wished her a happy new year, Yui did the same before sitting down to eat some of the osechi ryori before putting it away. Once Yui finished, she'd washed her dish; along with any that were in the sink as well. After that, Dojima helped Nanako get into her pink kimono, while Yui went back upstairs to go put on hers. She wore a light yellow kimono and had put her hair in a bun, along with the pin that Rin got for her. They then grabbed their things, put on their shoes, and locked the door befind them; before making their way down to the shopping district to visit the shrine.

Once they arrived, they went and made their wish then put their money in the offering box. Yui wasn't sure what Nanako and Dojima had wished for, but she did know what she'd wish for. For Rin to be released from the hospital soon, for her mom's case to go well, for her dad's project to go well, for the next semester to go well, and to make lots of new friends throughout the year.

They turned around to leave, though before that Yui took a look around the shrine. Seeing that it was pretty well maintained for a local shrine. Not long after they'd left the shrine they'd ran into Adachi-san Yuri-san, and Higumo-san who were on theit way to visit the shrine themselves. Adachi-san was wearing his usual attire, while Yuri-san wore a bright orange kimono; with a bunch of different patterns on it. It really suited her, and matched her radiant personality perfectly. Higumo-san wore a green turtleneck, with a dark green jacket overneath; and black camo pants. They exchanged new year's greeting, but something strange had happened. When Yui asked if they've visited Rin yet, Higumo-san looked away; she could've sworn she saw a look of anger in his eyes but she wasn't too sure. While Higumo-san had walked off ahead of Adachi-san and Yuri-san, she'd wondered why Higumo-san reacted the way he did. "Did something hapoen between Higumo-san and Rin?" Yui thought, she looked to the two young adults; hoping that either one would give her an answer about Higumo-san's odd behavior. The two had let out a sigh, before they turned towards them. "Sorry bout that, Kai and Rin haven't really been on the best terms." Adachi said, apologizing to them. Though you couldn't see it, Adachi had a glint of frustration in his eyes. Annoyed by how Kai would always act like a jackass whenever he was around Rin. It pissed Adachi off to the point of where'd he had to beat some sense into that hard skull of his. Dojima-san looked like he had a pretty good idea of what he was referring to, Kai must have told him at some point.

So, something did happen. But, what?" Yui wondered, her curiosity was piqued; but she knew tgey'd wouldn't probably tell her right away. If she wanted to know the answer she'd have to ask Rin herself. "Anyways, you still haven't answered my question." Yui said, bringing them back to the topic at hand. "Nope, not yet. We were gonna head over there once we've visited the shrine, of course I'll need to change first. You're welcome to come with us Naru-chan, if you like." Yuri said, inviting her. Yui asked Dojima if it was ok with him, seeing that he was fine with it. "Sure, I just need to go home and change first. I'll meet guys up at the hospital." She said, accepting the invitation. "Ok, we'll see you then." Yuri said, before the two headed off towards the shrine and caught up with Higumo-san. They'd returned to the house and took off their shoes, Yui headed on up to change out of her kimono and into her regular winter outfit; while Dojima helped Nanako change out of her's and into some regular clothes. She'd grabbed her bag, and went downstairs to put on her shoes and coat; then told them she'd back later before she left for the hospital.

Adachi and Yuri had caught up with Kai. "Hey! Why'd run off like that?! That was really rude!" Yuri exclamed, while she scolded Kai. Kai deserved it too, he had no right to act like that towards them. A smug grin graced Adachi featutes from having seen Kai being chewed out by Yuri. Once she finished, Kai left the shrine; having already made his wish. "Geez, why does he have to be like that?" Yuri said, in an annoyed tone; before letting out a sigh. "I know, but it can't be helped. As long as he keeps being a frickin coward." Adachi stated, before they walked up to the shrine. Adachi stood next to Yuri, while she made her wish. "A God who grants wishes, yeah right." Adachi thought, he didn't believe in that crap. At one point he may have, but that was a long time ago. Hell, he wouldn't have even bothered to come here; but Yuri was persistent. Despite Adachi's many protests, he would always end up being dragged to the shrine along with her. Once they got there, Adachi stood there while Yuri did what she needed to do before they headed home. He thought of ditching her, while she was in the middle of making her wish; but he didn't really have anything better to do at the time so he stuck around. Plus, he was kind of curious as to what Yuri had wished for.

Yuri had finished making her wish and put her money in the offering box. "So what did you wish for?" Adachi asked, curiously. Yuri looked at him and smiled, "For us to finally catch those jerks, and.. for me to finally tell a certain someone how I feel." Yuri blurted out, while she blushed. Adachi probably had a good idea of who it was. "Guess that answers that question." Adachi thought, before they left the shrine and parted ways; with Yuri heading home to change and Adachi heading towards the hospital.

Adachi made his way towards his destination, with his car finally fixed it made the trip to the hospital much easier. No longer having to take the bus and deal with all those people.

Adachi went to park his car, then went to go wait for the girls in the lobby. While Adachi was waiting he figured he'd give Doc. a new year's greeting in the meantime. Adachi went up to the reception desk to see if Doc. was in. "Ah, Adachi-san. Happy New Year." The receptionist said, Adachi returned the greeting with his own. "Here to see Kurosawa-chan, I presume?" The receptionist asked, Adachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that question. "Yeah, but I'm waiting for Yuri and Narukami-chan to get here." Adachi replied, "How come they didn't come here with you?" The receptionist asked, while Adqchi went ahead and signed in. "Well, they would've. but they had go home first and change." Adachi answered, "I just wanted to see if Doc. was in and give him a new year's greeting." Adachi explained, "Well he's busy with a patient at the moment, but I can pass along the message for you though." The receptionist said, "Yeah, thanks." Adachi said, grateful for the receptionist's help. "No rest for the weary." Adachi thought, before he went back to waiting for the girls. Some time had passed, and Narukami-chan was the first to arrive. She waved over to him, as she walked towards to him. Not long after Yuri had arrived as well, she waved over to them; then proceeded to join them. The two of them then went to sign in before heading on up.

Once they had entered her room, the room began to change around them. Yui didn't think she'd ever get used to that; as a shiver shot down her spine due to the weird sensation. They headed on inside the house like before, taking off their shoes and coats and jacket in the process. Then made their way into the living room, seeing a feast before them and Rin sitting down on one of the sofas; sipping a cup of tea. The food looked amazing as always, of course that wasn't the only thing. As Adachi's eyes were fixated on Rin, wanting her to sip on something else besides that cup of tea. The sight of this hardened him, a sly smile hidden behind her cup. Knowing full well the desire hidden behind Adachi's eyes, it sent shivers down her spine and heated her core. Holding back those soft moans, wanting nothing more than to take him up on that; but unfortunately now wasn't the time for such things. Rin put down the cup, acknowledging their presence. "Happy New Year, everyone." Rin said, greeting them. Snapping them out of their stupor, they returned the greeting with their own; then proceeded to sit down and enjoy tbe new year's feast before them.

While they were eating Yui was internally debating whether or not to ask Rin about what happened between her and Higumo-san. Rin took note of this, "Is there something wrong, Yui-chan?" Rin asked, Yui bit her lip in hesitation; but there was no point in hiding it from her. "I met Higumo-san yesterday." Yui said, this brought about a look of sorrow on Rin's face. "And earlier today when I mentioned you, he acted strange. What happened between the two of ypu?" Yui asked, Rin put down her chopsticks before she spoke. Yui knew from experience that this must've been a serious matter to Rin; as she's seen her dad do the same thing. Rin let out a sigh before she began. "As I mentioned the other day a trail of blood has always followed me. One of those was Mai's, she died; while protecting me. Not long after I had moved Mai was abducted by those fiends, they interrogated and tortured her; trying to get her to tell them my location. Mai refused to tell them anything, seeing that was the case; they mutilated her body and hung it for all to see. Using her as an example, just to send a message to me." Rin said, having finally finished. Silence hung in the air, Yui was stunned beyond belief; to think they'd go so far to do such a thing. Yui tried to speak, but no words came out; but Rin knew what she was going to ask. "You're wondering what this has to do with me and Kai?" Rin asked, seeing she lacked the strength to ask Rin herself. She simply nodded at this, "Mai was Kai's little sister, and it's because of this he blames me for Mai's death." Rin stated, Yui was astonished at this. "I told them not to get too close to me, that I was nothing but trouble. But Mai didn't care, she held no regrets for being my friend; which explains why she did what she did. Kai however, just brushed it off as a joke and thought nothing of it. But, after what happened with Mai he fully understood what I meant. Ever since then he's hated me for that, which is a shame; because even though he hates me I still consider him as a friend." Rin said, holding back her tears; for this was something that was never easy to talk about. Not without her becoming a complete mess in the process. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I knew you mentioned that a friend of yours had died in your letters, but I had no idea." Yui said, apologizing to Rin. "It's ok, I know you didn't mean any harm." Rin said, reassuringly. "Seems that I've ruined the mood." Yui said, laughing sheepishly. "Nah, don't worry about it Narukami-chan. That's always been a sore subject to her." Adachi said, having finished his food. "Yeah, and besides. Even though something bad happened, something good came out of it." Yuri piped up, this confused Yui. "What do you mean?" Yui asked, "It was maybe a few months after Mai had died, that we first met. Rin was really depressed at the time, and seeing her like that I just couldn't help myself; I wanted to help her in any way that I could. Though, it may not have been much. The only thing that I could do at the time, was listen and give her some encouragement. But it was enough for her, and it helped lift her spirits." Yuri stated, Yui acknowledged this; she knew how much Yuri-san meant to Rin in her letters. But, she didn't know how the two first met; if they hadn't she wondered if she would have even met Rin at all. That was something she didn't even want to think about.

"By the way, Big Brother Damian said that I'd be released next week." Rin said, sharing the good news. "Really?! Awesome!" Yuri blurted out excitedly. "About time, I thought it never, finish. I know you're definitely eager to get outta here." Adachi said, "I'm so happy to hear that." Yui said, congratulating her. "Thank you, I'm glad it's almost over." Rin said, grateful for their words. "Well now we'll need to throw a welcome home party too." Yuri chirped, bringing up the idea. "And you're more than welcome to stay at my place. I know you'd rather stay at Dachi's, but since you two aren't married yet." Yuri continued, until Rin shouted in embarrassment; her face completely red. For what Yuri was saying was the truth, she would love to move in with him; but the temptation to partake in sex would be absolutely unbearable. She was already having a hard enough time as is resisting her sexual desires, to not break the promise that she made to her mother before she died. "But, yes. I was already planning on doing that in the first place; while I prepare for college." Rin explained, after having regained her composure. "Good." Yuri replied, happy with her answer. The heaviness from earlier seemed to have lifted, with the rest of their time spent together more cheerful than earlier.

Time had passed and it was time for them to leave, they said their goodbyes; and left the other reality same as before. It was late in the afternoon by the time they'd exited the hospital. As they were about to part ways Yuri offered Yui a ride back. She accepted the offer once again, she extended the offer to Adachi as well; but he declined saying that he was fine. He bade them goodbye before heading towards his car, driving back to his apartment. Yuri took no offense at this, thinking that he probably drove here himself. Yuri shrugged at this, and the two waved him off before heading towards Yuri's car and made their way towards the Dojima residence. She thanked Yuri again for the ride and entered the house, letting them know that she was home. She took off her shoes and coat, and went to put her bag away before spending the rest of the day with the Dojimas.

The rest of winter break was pretty peaceful, however that would be their last bit of peace for a while. As things would be getting hectic from here on had rained into the late evening on January 6th, and they took that as their chance to finally see the alleged Midnight Channel; however they wouldn't be sleeping well that night.

1/6/12

Weather: Rain

(Yui's POV)

It was almost midnight, a few minutes now and they would see whether or not the strange channel exists. She waited in anticipation as the clock ticked, until finally it was midnight. At first nothing happened, but then all of a sudden the TV had magically switched on; and an image appeared on the screen. She couldn't make out who it was, as the image was blurry. She could only make out the silhouette, it felt familar to her somehow. "Could it be?" Shr thought, as a feeling of dread washed over her before it switched off. Her cell phone then rang, snapping her out of it. Seeing that it was Adachi-san, she flipped it open. "Hey, Narukami-chan. You saw it right?" Adachi asked, "Yeah, I saw it. I couldn't get a good look, but I think that might have been Yuri-san." She said, "Yeah, I thought so too. After all, we already knew that she might be a target." Adachi surmised, "Right, I'll be sure to let Rin know tomorrow." She said, "Ok, we'll meet up sometime tomorrow." Adachi said, hanging up on the other line. She closed her phone, then went on to bed herself; though her slumber was a restless one.

1/7/12

Weather: Mostly Sunny

The next morning was a bit slow going for her, due to not getting much rest the night before. She could thank The Midnight Channel for that, before she let out a tired sigh. It may have taken her a bit longer than usual, but she finally got herself together; before heading down to join Nanako for breakfast. She bade her good morning, not seeing Dojima anywhere in sight; most likely already off to work for the day. Once she finished up her meal and washed the dishes, she grabbed her phone and texted Adachi-san about when they'd meet up to discuss about The Midnight Channel. It took a couple minutes until she got a response from the young detective. "We can meet up during our lunch break. I'll text Yuri and see if that works with her, if not it'll have to be sometime when we get off work. Ok?" Adachi replied. "That's fine, whatever works well for you guys." She replied, before she sent it. "Alright, I'll keep you posted then. Have you visited Rin yet?" Adachi asked, "No, not yet. I will in a little bit though." She replied, "Alright, just thought I'd ask. Anyways, gotta go before Dojima-san berates me for slacking off. We'll talk later." Adachi replied, before returning to work. She chuckled to herself before she closed her phone, then went to gather her things before she headed out.

After she reached the hospital room, she entered inside; before reality shifted bringing her back again to the other plane of reality. She didn't see Rin out and about, so she figured she was probably in the house somewhere. She thought, before going inside. She went in, hanging up her things before looking for Rin. She had found her in the kitchen, making some okonomiyaki for breakfast. Having finished, she took her plate along with a cup of tea; and proceeded to head on into the living room. As she turned around she saw the young teen before her. "Ah, good morning Yui-chan. Are you hungry?" Rin asked, "No, I'm fine. I just recently ate, but thanks." She replied, before returning her greeting. "What brings you by today?" Rin asked, for she never really expected visitors this early; unless the matter was of utmost importance. "We saw The Midnight Channel last night." She said, cutting right to the chase. Rin was shocked to say the least. "I see, did you see who it was?" Rin asked, "We're not sure, but we think it might be Yuri-san." She stated, Rin grimaced at this. "What makes you all think it's her?" Rin said, flatly. "Although the image was blurry, we were able to make out the silhouette; and it looked a lot like Yuri-san." She said, a matter of factly. "Darn it, and I won't be able to assist you two when you go and try rescue her." Rin said, gritting her teeth in frustration. "Hm, Why's that?" She asked, confused at that. "Once the transformation phase is complete, it will take some time for me to get adjusted to my new form." Rin explained, enraged by the fact that once again she wouldn't be able to be there for her friend when she needed her most. To sit back and do nothing, but this time wasn't like what happened last time. This time was different, she wasn't alone; she had people that she could rely and depend on. Rin's eyes held a fire within them, as she looked at her. "Yui-chan, I'm counting on you and the others to bring Yuri back home safe; and for all of you to come back home safe too. Ok?" Rin asked, she nodded in determination. "Yeah, don't worry. You can count on us." She said, feeling a bit of confidence growing inside her. "I'll be sure to pass that on to the others." She said, assuring her she'd fill them in once they meet up later. Rin smiled at that, then returned to her meal. Now having gone cold, after it being ignored due to their conversation. Though, a tad bit disappointed at that it couldn't be helped; and continued to eat it nonetheless. The same with her tea as well, once Rin had finished and had washed her dishes they went out to the training grounds to spar for a while. The session was intense as always, but invigorating. It was thanks to this that she felt she'd gotten a better grip on how to utilize her new found power. She still felt like she had a long way to go though. After they'd finished she bade Rin goodbye before she left.

As she returned to the hospital, she got out her phone to see if Adachi-san got back to her. When she opened it up, she saw that it was almost noon and that she received a text from Adachi-san. "Yuri said that she'd be able to meet up with us during lunch." Adachi texted, "Hey, I just saw your text. Sorry, I didn't respond earlier; but I was with Rin. Anyways, that's good that we'll be able to meet up for lunch. Where are we meeting up at?" She replied to his text, then proceeded to head on down to the lobby. It wasn't long after her phone went off. She dug it out and checked to see what Adachi-san's response was. "Figures, and I figured we meet up at Junes. I'm just about to head over right now." Adachi replied, "Ok then, I'll be there soon. It shouldn't take that long to get there from the hospital." She replied,"That's if you don't get lost." Adachi replied, "You're never gonna let that go, are you?" She replied, annoyingly. "Nope, I'll see ya there." Adachi replied, ending the conversation teasing her. She groaned, as she closed her phone before leaving the hospital and making her way towards the department store.

It took her about twenty minutes to get to Junes from the hospital. She went on in and took the elevator on down to the food court. Once there she went to go and place her order before looking for the others; although that didn't take long at all. As she spotted them easily, sticking out like sore thumb. She smiled warmly at the sight, and walked up to the counter. However, she wasn't expecting to see one of her upperclassmen working here at the Junes food court. "Oh, hey. Narukami-chan, right?" Saki asked, "Uh, yeah. It's nice to see you, Konishi-senpai. I didn't know you worked here as well." She said, surprised to see her here. "Yeah, my family's shop hasn't been doing so well for sometime now; and we needed the money." Saki explained, "Well, I'm sure your parents appreciate all that your doing." She said, "Yeah.. Anyways, what would you like?" Saki asked, after having trailed off. Yui wondered if there was more to that, but it would have to wait until later. She ordered some onigiri, then proceeded to pay her senpai the necessary amount. "Thanks, by the way my break will be starting soon. Since you're probably still new here, you probablydon'tknow the area all to well. I can show you around, if you like?" Saki asked, "Sure, that'd be nice." She replied, before waiting a few minutes for her food. Once it was ready, she went to go sit with the others and enjoy her meal. "Hey, Naru-chan!" Yuri blurted out, while waving over to her. "Hey, sorry for the wait." She said, apologizing to them. "No worries, Narukami-chan." Adachi said, reassuring her. "Yeah, it's fine." Haruno said, they then went on to discuss what to do in regards to The Midnight Channel; whist enjoying their food. After all, they didn't know when the fog was supposed to roll in; and if the fog were to lift while they were in there they'd be screwed. However, there wasn't much that they could do at the moment; due to not having enough information to go on. The only thing they came up with was to keep an eye on the Midnight Channel and the weather for now. After all, they knew who the target was and they had warned her all they could do now is wait. She then filled them in on what Rin told her earlier, how once 'it' was finished it would take her some time for her to get used to her new form. "Hm, I'm not surprised by that. In that case, if Yuri does go missing someone will need to stay with Rin; while the rest of us go into the TV. I wouldn't feel comfortable going in otherwise." Haruno surmised, they all unanimously agreed on that front; and without question Adachi-san was the first to step up. It made the most sense to him, he was already planning on going pick up Rin tomorrow anyway; since it was his day off. Not only that, they had no idea what they would face in that other world. His sensei's strength would come in handy against stronger types of shadows. Besides, this wasn't the first time that something like this happened. Thinking back on how the strong, resilient girl he cared for look so weak and frail when she was nearing the beginning of her transformation state. But, even still she kept living her life earnestly; not once losing that adorable smile on her face. With a strong argument like that they couldn't really complain, though for some reason Yuri-san couldn't resist rolling her eyes at Adachi-san; before telling Adachi-san not to do anything weird to Rin. Saying that he wasn't going too, defensively; and if he did he knew that Haruno would kill him if he did anything like that. Shirobana-san agreed with that statement, she chuckled at their antics. She was glad she'd gotten to know them.

Having finished their discussion and their food, the two young adults went back to work. There was no telling where Shirobana-san went off to, most likely to keep an eye on Yuri. Meanwhile, she left with Konishi-senpai; who was now on her break. They chatted for a bit, while her senpai showed her the sights of Inaba; before she headed home and her senpai had to return to work. Though not before picking up stuff to make for dinner tonight. She felt like they learned a bit more about each other, though she didn't feel like she was any closer to finding out why Konishi-senpai reacted the way she did. Though, she had a feeling of what it was; but it wouldn't be until sometime later until she received her answer.

End of chapter:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! And thus the first interlude arc is complete. I really wasn't expecting the interlude chapters to be as long as they were, I honestly thought these would be just short chapters but no! I just couldn't stop writing. It was to the point I kept on going even after I had already finished a chapter, though I didn't over do it. On days I wasn't feeling well I just worked on editing my previous chapters, which may seem annoying to some people.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially as someone who can't stand New Year's. It's one of my least favorite holidays of the year. I also enjoyed expanding on Yuri's and Kai's drinking habits, and having Yui grow her bond between her and Saki. Still haven't decided on whether or not I'll keep her alive or not. But, I'm really looking forward to writing the next arc; it's gonna be good.
> 
> However, before I start; I'm gonna take a bit of a break. One, I don't want to burn myself out; and two I really want focus on writing my Persona 4 Golden review. Due to the fact, I've recently completed; but I had to put it on the side. Since, I was almost finished with the interlude arc. I'll be sure to post these chapters along with the edits to my previous chapters Ao3, before I go on break.
> 
> Anyways, yes people as I established in the last chapter there was a possibility of her being their first target. The first target is Yuri, I have been waiting so long to tell you all. The question will they be able to save Yuri in time or will she become another victim swallowed by the fog? If you enjoyed the story so far please feel free to leave a follow, favorite, or a review.
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: A New Card Comes Into Play

**Author's Note:**

> Finally! Done with this chapter! It took me a while but I finally finished the first chapter of the first arc. Next chapter we will focus on Adachi's POV
> 
> Until next time, farewell.
> 
> Next chapter: Fateful Enconter


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